


Travel

by testingsth



Category: Hwasa - Fandom, Hyejin - Fandom, Kpop - Fandom, Mamamoo, Wheein - Fandom, mmm - Fandom, wheesa - Fandom, 마마무
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Immortality, Immortals, Kind of time travel actually, Slow Burn, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 46,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28288125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/testingsth/pseuds/testingsth
Summary: Wheein and Hyejin are immortals, but that's not all you need to know. They have their paths unexpectedly crossed on an eventful night in Chicago and since then, they’ve been bumping in and out of each other's lives. No matter how much they like each other, a number of obstacles - most of them which still unknown to Wheein - continue to prevent them from actually being together, thats if they will even ever be.
Relationships: Ahn Hyejin | Hwasa & Jung Wheein, Ahn Hyejin | Hwasa/Jung Wheein, Minor Moonsun - Relationship, wheesa
Comments: 11
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First, English is not my first language, so if there's any mistakes, deal with it. Jk, you can tell me in the comments and I'll fix it.
> 
> This story is based on this video: https://twitter.com/chuuyaagiota/status/1277291997288697856.  
> It's going to take place in different places and period of times, so bear with me for this one.
> 
> This is also a story for Luiza, who needs more Wheesa in her life.  
> And also for Kathelyn, who has been helping and supporting me since day one.  
> I thank you both for making me write again, it has been a great experience and I didn't know how much I missed until now.
> 
> Merry Christmas!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wheein and Hyejin are immortals, but that's not all you need to know. They have their paths unexpectedly crossed on an eventful night in Chicago and since then, they’ve been bumping in and out of each other's lives. No matter how much they like each other, a number of obstacles - most of them which still unknown to Wheein - continue to prevent them from actually being together, thats if they will even ever be.

**PART I**

**Chicago, Illinois, USA (1929)**

Some people say that the 1920s were marked by the undeniable state of euphoria lived after World War I, some believe it was unforgettable because it was the beginning of the women's fight for their rights, or even by the undeniable crisis that hit the United States at the end of the decade. It was a troubled historical period with a lot of ups and downs. Times of pride for some people and events that should not have existed for others.

Wheein, on the other hand, considers the decade remarkable because it was when she met _her_ for the very first time. 

It happened when she was working. Well, kind of... Wheein’s sitting on an old stool as she rests her back on the counter with a glass of whiskey in her hand, inside one of the many underground bars enabled by Al Capone during the Prohibition Era. She’s a part of his network but she also has an autonomy that other people did not have. Wheein’s one of the best beverage negotiators in the Chicago area and has earned this title in the last couple of years. She made a point of personally accompanying each delivery so she could keep contact with her most important customers, but some of them could be extremely consuming. In that late afternoon, for example, she’s waiting for the bar's employees to unload the liquor barrels off of her truck while she takes a better look at the place.

The panel behind the bar is full of beverages on display, making it clear that they don’t care what an inspection, or even the police could do to them - they would just pay them to look the other way. In front of the bar there is a large hall full of tables and wooden chairs that seem like they need to be changed, but it’s all surprisingly clean for such an old place. There is also a stage up in the front which is practically glowing and filled with a brand new piano. Wheein also noticed that in the upper right corner there is a booth that for sure has a privileged view of the stage. She knows, due to the other times she had been there, that the stairs next to the bar gives access to this booth, but she had never been there before.

“Could they go any slower?” Wheein says ironically while she takes the glass to her mouth, drinking away the remaining liquid left in it out of frustration. “I'm really not looking forward to being seen by your customers when they start to arrive.”

“Sorry, we’re short-staffed today.” One of the barmans replies. “It will take a while, Miss Jung. We have orders to open and taste each barrel to make sure it is not diluted.” He says as he fills her glass again.

"Great, it's not like I have anything better to do." She rolls her eyes at him.

"Please make yourself comfortable." Joseph emerges from the back of the bar in one of his identical but perfect suits. He’s the pub’s owner. "My boy Dean here will take care of you," Joseph taps the boy’s left shoulder twice. Dean looks scared and barely seems 18, let alone 21 to be working at a bar. "I don't wanna see her glass empty, kid." He directs the last sentence directly to his employee.

"Joseph, hi, long time no see." She greets him with a quick hug. "Are you doubting the quality of my products or are you doing it just for the pleasure of getting your employees drunk?" She knows that the need to test the products is normal, especially nowadays, but she felt like teasing him since she’s already stuck there.

"I apologize for the inconvenience. We received a bad shipment a few weeks ago that almost made us shut down for a whole week. Better be safe than sorry.”

"This is what you get for buying with the competition." She shrugged.

“I hate to admit it but you're right.” Joseph sits beside her while Dean organizes the drinks on the panel inside the bar, pretending he’s not there. “I know this is not how you planned to spend your evening but you might end up enjoying it. The show will start soon.”

“I have no intention of staying for the show. You have half an hour.” Wheein replies politely when she sees the firsts customers walking through the door. She’s not really comfortable with how close Joseph is.

Wheein and Joseph have been on a date once, only one time a few months ago. He kissed her and she let him even though she knew it wasn't right for her. After that event, Wheein politely rejected him and they didn't talk about it ever since, just kept the professional and friendly relationship that they had before. Apparently, this relationship has actually been shaken considering Joseph has tried to change suppliers. But the fact that he couldn’t find someone better gave Wheein some kind of satisfaction.

"Right. But what do you want while you wait? Beer, wine, rum? It's all on the house today." Joseph offers. 

"Whiskey is fine." Wheein says. "And take some beer to my partners, they are in the back with the rest of your people." Her driver and her security, as they were known, are waiting by the truck, supervising the unloading. 

"Do you think it's safe to give alcohol to your driver?" Dean says after filling her glass one more time and leaving the bottle on the counter. "I mean, it’s a really big vehicle…"

"Are you paid to ask questions or to serve drinks, boy?" Joseph glances at his employee. "Go serve her friends, as she said." Dean leaves before he can get another scold.

"It's not like it’s going to kill us." Wheein thinks aloud with a smirk on her face. Joseph’s confused face tells her that she had actually spoken out loud and she rushes to correct it. "Our profession is very dangerous, we have been through worse."

"I'm sure you have. But look, we’re trying a couple of new singers today. They have been a hit in the city for the past few weeks, so as the great music lover I know you are, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy it.” Joseph says, trying to make his point.

"Yeah?" She replies indifferently.

“I promise you won't regret it! The opening singer has the voice of an angel and is one of the most talented women I have ever brought to this stage, hands down. After her, the main attraction sings, plays the piano and- ” he keeps rambling until Wheein interrupts him. 

"Thank you, but I'm not interested." She’s firm. Wheein doesn't want to be rude, but after the long day she’s had all she wants to do is finish this delivery and go home as fast as she can. “If I were you, I would check if your employees are doing the job right. In twenty-five minutes we will be leaving with that truck, whether it is empty or not.”

"Okay, fine, I'm going to leave you alone." By now the customers are coming in faster and getting settled on the tables closer to the stage. Joseph, as the good host he is, stands up to go welcome them. “But if you need anything, just tell me. Your pleasure is my priority. ” He winks at her and leaves towards the clients. Wheein winces once he turns away. 

"I really have to do everything." Wheein tells herself and stands up with the bottle of whiskey on one hand, deciding to inspect the unloading herself. She passes by Dean on her way there, he was walking - almost running - back to the bar, looking slightly more frightened.

"I already told you to stop messing with these boys, one of these days you will actually traumatize one of them." Wheein hears Yongsun's voice as she approaches them.

"What can I do if they’re all scared little shits?" Moonbyul replies with a casual tone.

"What did you do this time?" Wheein asks as she sits next to them at the table.

"Nothi-." Yongsun hits her arm roughly before she can finish, interrupting her. “Ouch!”

"She almost scared that kid to death because he brought us beer, she acted like it was death penalty worthy crime."

“As it is!” Moonbyul protests. “Out of this variety of beverages the guy brings us beer? He gotta be kidding.”

"I told him to bring beer because I knew Byul would be mad." Wheein says with a proud smile on her face.

"Asshole." Moonbyul responds by punching her slightly.

"At least I brought this." Wheein puts the bottle of whiskey on the table and Yongsun tries to reach for it, but Wheein pushes it towards Byul. "You’re driving."

"So what? Do you think I'm going to kill us?” She raises her eyebrows.

"No, but if you hit the truck I will find a way to kill you."

"Whatever." Yongsun complains as she watches Moonbyul take a big sip straight from the bottle. "Ugh, how long is this gonna to take?" 

"If you're in such a hurry why don’t you help them?" Moonbyul teases.

“This is not my job. I'm just the driver here, you're the security. Bodyguard, I dare to say. You should be the muscles. Byul, come on, go help them.”

Moonbyul’s almost drinking away but she stops to answer. “Bodyguard is a very strong word. I am only responsible for realize the things that you don’t and take your asses out of the stupid situations you put yourselves in. I’m the brain, Wheein is the negotiator, you should be the muscles.”

"Hey, you guys better not get started or I'm going to be the muscle of the group just so I can kick both of your asses." Byul and Yong can be totally children sometimes, especially when they’re together. They continue their friendly banter while Wheein chooses to ignore them. 

A few minutes later Wheein is able to listen to the refined saxophone notes filling the place even from the distance. The show has started and she recognizes a slower version of Crazy Blues taking place on the stage. Despite being a great fan of good music that sound alone was not enough to draw her attention. But surprisingly, the strong and yet sweet voice that followed shortly awoke her interest.

_“I can't sleep at night  
I can't eat a bite  
'Cause the man I love  
He don't treat me right”  
_

Wheein stands up carefully and follows the music towards the hall without saying a word, leaving two very confused women behind.

When she arrives at the bar area she sets her eyes on one of the most wonderful women she has ever seen in her very long life. Wearing a long red dress with her beautiful black hair falling over one of her shoulders as she slightly sways to her own voice. _Joseph was right this time, s_ he thought to herself, _I’ve never seen someone like her on this stage. Or maybe anywhere._

_“He makes me feel so blue_   
_I don't know what to do_   
_Sometime I sit and sigh_   
_And then begin to cry_   
_'Cause my best friend_   
_Said his last goodbye”_

Despite knowing it’s just a song, the idea that someone could ever mistreat that woman bothered Wheein in an irrational way. She walks blindly until she reaches one of the empty tables by stage on the left corner of the hall and sits down, absorbing every aspect of that performance. Wheein lost track of time and before she could realize Dean was standing by her side, interrupting her reverie.

“Miss Jung…”

"Shhh." She shushes him.

"But-" He tries again.

"Shut up!" She warns as she throws him a glance, taking her eyes off of the singer for the first time. The boy is pale and seems scared, like usual. Wheein took pity on him. "Fuck, sorry, what is it?"

"They’re done with the truck. It’s empty, you are free to go."

“I'm not going anywhere right now. Bring me another drink, please.” She turns her attention back to the stage.

“Miss Jung, please, Miss Moon sent me to get you. She said I have five minutes to get you back or…” Dean couldn't finish the sentence, his voice’s shaking.

"Damn Moonbyul." she curses. “Look, kid, she won't do anything to you, okay? She’s only messing with you because you are afraid of basically anything that moves. No offence. Tell her that I'm watching the show and it’s probably gonna take a while, go.” She pushes him lightly to encourage him to get out of her way. 

"Am I hallucinating?" She hears another voice as Dean disappears behind her. "I thought you said you weren't going to stay for the show." Joseph says as he sits next to her.

Wheein rolls her eyes and responds nonchalantly, not even looking at him. "I changed my mind."

"I knew today's attractions would change your mind, that’s why I told them to start the show earlier."

"Sounds presumptuous." 

"I don’t care. She's not even the main attraction today, you know?” He says gesturing to the singer. “If you like her, you will love the next one.”

“She’s not-, are you crazy? Have you seen her?” She looks at him to make sure he’s serious. 

“She’s good but she is inexperienced. I'm trying to convince her to sign with me ‘cause I know I can make her big, but she’s not there yet. But as I was saying, the next-. ”

"Who is she?" Wheein interrupts him, mentioning the woman on the stage.

"What?"

"What is her name?"

"Ah, Hyejin, Ahn Hyejin, I guess..." Joseph doesn’t sound sure. 

"Ahn Hyejin…" Wheein whispers her name like it’s a prayer. She turns her attention back to the singer and once again is infatuated by such perfection. "I need to talk to her."

"What? Now?" Joseph asks, confused.

"No, of course not. After the performance.” She thinks quickly and tries, "I can convince her to sign with you." 

The only topic that the two of them shared gladly at that one fateful date was their love for music. Joseph, besides running the bar, is also a musical producer and a manager for some artists in the city. He even uses that job to launder the pub's money. Wheein herself has already indicated some talents for him to manage. Despite everything, she knows he’s a nice guy and a good professional.

"And what's in it for you?" Wheein can't explain where this urge to talk to the singer is coming from but she knows she has to. And when she wants something it’s impossible to get her mind out of it.

"If I do it you owe me one." She finally says. 

"I’m not one to make blind deals."

“You know me, it's not like I'm going to ask for something absurd. I just want to have the pleasure of getting it done when you couldn't.” She says with a defiant tone in her voice and Joseph puts his thinking face on. “I don’t need the money, dude. Don’t be stupid.” 

“Whatever, you can try. And if you make it you can drink here for free for as long as you like. Does it sound good enough for you?" _Great,_ she thinks, _combining business with pleasure._

"Deal." They shake hands and another thought hits her mind. "And you stop trying to switch providers." She raises an eyebrow at him. 

"Oh.” Joseph's caught off guard. He looks embarrassed and tries to explain.. “I didn’t... it's just..." 

"Cut and shit, Joe, it's okay, we’re fine. Let's just make this deal and get it over with." She doesn't hold any kind of grudge, Wheein just wants to continue their professional relationship. He’s a good customer, after all.

“Okay, we have a deal. Two, actually.” He smiles sincerely. “Do you want me to get your friends so they enjoy the show with you? They’re drinking my whiskey like it’s water. Including your driver.”

"Good thing you said it's all on the house."

“Today and only today just because of the delay. And if you hold your end of the bargain I need to make it clear that the free drinks are just for you. If those two were included I would definitely go bankrupt.” Joseph says as he stands up.

“Just today, of course, but you don't need to get them. Tell them they can leave if they want, I'll find a way to go home later.”

"Right. I'll get my cabin ready for you.” He says pointing at a private booth Wheein had noticed earlier, on the second floor. It’s a large room, red and gold on the inside, as it could be seen by the large transparent glass window. “You will have more privacy there. Come with me." He holds out his arm as an act of chivalry and Wheein takes it. 

"Great." She follows him to the second floor. 

After leaving Wheein at the cabin, Joseph leaves her with the promise to come back bringing the singer with him as soon as she finishes her performance. From upstairs, Wheein returns her attention to the show through the window. She does have a privileged view of the stage, but she kind of wishes she was closer to the other woman. Every word that came out of that woman's mouth was getting stuck on her head in a way she could not explain. She doesn’t know how or why but Wheein is sure she has never been so drawn to someone before. _To a voice_ , she correctes in her head. _It isn’t anything personal, I just really like her voice._ That's what she tries to tell herself. The show is over faster than she would have liked and she sees Joseph, who was downstairs right next to the stage, signaling that he’s going back up with Hyejin.

_Oh my God, what am I doing?_ Suddenly, reality hits Wheein like a rock. _What am I going to say to her?_ She notices that she hasn’t thought about it properly. She allows herself to panic for a few seconds before getting her shit back together. _Okay, right. You don't do that, okay? You don't panic. Is she beautiful? Yes, but so what? You’ve done much more than just talk with women just as beautiful as her, right? You have a goal here. Just follow the plan and convince her to sign with Joseph or whatever. Just throw a little charm and see what happens. The worst that can happen is a no. If all goes well, you will have a better chance of seeing her in the future and the possibility of pissing Joseph off by drinking at his expense anytime you want. Focus on th-._

The door is suddenly opened taking her out of her own thoughts. Joseph is not there, though. Only Ahn Hyejin in all of her glory. She comes in and closes the door behind her like she owns the place. Wheein’s about to introduce herself but the other woman is faster. 

"So, you’re Joseph's dealer?" Well, this is not the beginning she expected.

"Depends, did he tell you that?"

“Those weren't his exact words but I kind of suspected it. I saw the two of you talking when I arrived. You guys should really be more discreet.” Hyejin goes to the table and pours herself a drink. "Do you want something?"

"No, thank you, I’m good." Only God knows what she would do if she puts one more drop of alcohol in her system.

“I'm Hyejin, nice to meet you." Hyejin raises her hand to greet her and Wheein takes it immediately. She feels her heart skip a beat when their hands touch but decides to ignore it. It's just her anxiety talking.

“Jung Wheein. You too." Wheein composes herself putting her facade back on. She wears a smile on her face as she addresses the other woman. “And dealer is a very strong word. I prefer enabler.”

"It is not what the eighteenth amendment implies." She raises an eyebrow and takes a sip of her drink.

“Oh, you’ve read those? I’ve been meaning to, but you know, I'm a busy business woman.”

"You're funny." Hyejin sits on the couch and crosses her legs.

"And you have a wonderful voice." Wheein sits by her side, respecting a certain distance.

"Thanks." Wheein can see Hyejin's cheeks getting flushed.

“Seriously, your show was incredible. I came here only for business so I wasn’t even going to stay, but after hearing you sing I decided to enjoy the rest of the performance.” She shoots her shot.

"You're just being nice."

"No. Trust me, I'm not nice to people.”

“Oh, sure, it’s a part of the whole dealer pose, right? Got it." Hyejin jokes.

"No." Wheein thinks about it for a moment. “Okay, maybe a little. But it's true. Especially when it comes to music. I take it very seriously.”

"Really? Are you a producer too?”

"No, no. Just an avid art appreciator.”

"So I'm really glad you like it.”

"I would be a fool if I didn't." Wheein notices that she’s very close to Hyejin now. Like, really, really close. She doesn't remember closing that distance. They’re on a red velvet couch on the right side of the cabin. The couch is huge but they're so close that their thighs are touching slightly. They could also hear a male voice singing in the background - the next attraction is already on the stage - but they don’t care enough to watch it. Wheein doesn't understand how Joseph could think that this guy is better than Hyejin.

Wheein is very distracted by the perfume she can now smell due to their proximity. She couldn't quite distinguish what it is at first but she’s sure it matches the singer like it was made just for her. _Vanilla and red roses._ She registers before Hyejin brings her back to the real world. 

"Should we talk about business, then?" 

"Business?" Wheein is confused for a moment. 

"I know Joseph sent me here so you could convince me to sign with him."

“Oh, yeah, sure, that’s it. He's a nice guy. You should sign with him.”

Hyejin couldn't help but laugh for a few seconds and Wheein doesn't even care that she's laughing at her expense. That sound is almost as captivating as her voice. "That's your argument? Are you sure he sent the right person?"

"Honestly? I don't care about him enough to try harder. If you haven't closed a deal with him yet you must have a good reason to. I'm sure you'll be successful regardless of who you sign with, so I’ll let you make that decision by yourself.” Wheein thought about going through with the plan and try to convince her but for some reason she felt that it’s not her place to interfere in the singer's life like that, so every word that came out of her mouth now was sincere.

"Good, because with a beautiful face like yours it would be really hard to say no to any kind of offer, no matter how bad it might be." Well, that took an unexpected turn.

"Oh..." Wheein’s speechless for a moment.

“Anyway, enough about me. Let's go talk about your way of life. I’m interested.”

"What do you want to know exactly?"

"I don't know, how did you get into that line of work or... profession, maybe?"

"Well, there's not much of a history there… My parents died when I was a kid and I’ve been managing my own way through life since then.” Wheein really doesn’t have much to say about it. Her parents did die when she was a kid but it was kind of a hundred years ago… But she did have people who looked out for her after that and although they’re also long gone by now, she still has Moonbyul and Yongsun, so she was never alone in this… life.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t hav-.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry, I have people who have looked out for me ever since.” She noticed that Hyejin felt bad for making her talk about her dead parents but that wasn’t a painful subject for a long time now, so she just tried to address the issue lightly. “But girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right? And turns out I’m very good at this job. And also, I always get free drinks." Wheein winks as she finishes the sentence. She can’t tell Hyejin that but she’s immortal, for fucks sake, she has done dozens of things in the last years. Recently she just decided that she wanted to do something more exciting and that was it. Besides, she’s a fan of any opportunity to anger authorities, especially in the US. It’s a really a win-win situation. “How about you? Why did you decide to become a singer?”

"As someone once told me, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do..." Hyejin proudly replicates Wheein's words.

"I'm sure a beautiful woman like you wouldn't have to sing to live, Hyejin." Wheein says without even thinking and immediately regrets it. “I mean, you are beautiful, like, very, very beautiful. I'm sure men would line up to marry you. You could do anything you wanted, I mean, you wouldn’t be short of livelihood options.” Wheein has never felt so embarrassed in her life, she didn't believe the words that came out of her own mouth. It was like she was watching the interaction from out of her body and she really would have punched herself if she could.

"Here’s the thing, Jung Wheein,” Hyejin says, approaching her even more and Wheein winces a little. Wheein was never a shy person, especially when it comes to someone she likes. She’s used to get whatever or whomever she wants and she’s very proud of it, but there is something about this woman that took her out of her comfort zone. “I'm not interested in getting married, or in men in general…" She completes as she places a hand on Wheein's thigh.

"What are you interested in then?" Wheein's voice is so low that she hardly heard it herself.

"Right now, just in getting out of here with you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all made sense now. The connection she felt with the other woman, the weave of heat that went through Wheein’s body when Hyejin touched her hand, all of it. It’s because she’s immortal, right? It had to be.

**PART II -** **(1/2)**

**Leipzig, Saxony, GER (1944)**

The second time she sees her is not quite as she expected. Honestly, Wheein thought she would never see Hyejin again after waking up alone on that cold morning in what now feels like ages ago. Hyejin left with no warning, note nor goodbye, and Wheein felt like she got ghosted.

After a couple of days of complaining and moping around, Wheein finally decided to go to Joseph's pub again and casually tried to bring up Hyejin. Joseph said he hadn’t heard a word from her since that night, which meant Wheein had failed the deal they made. “She must have signed with someone else”, he supposed, “it’s okay, it's her loss”. _But was it? Was it really?_ Wheein drank too much that night hoping to drown her sorrows, but unfortunately, it wasn’t on the house that time.

Not satisfied with the total lack of news, Wheein even went to the places where Joseph said Hyejin had sung before. She asked around and seeked for more information but no one seemed to know anything about her more than her name. She had no friends, no agent nor contacts, absolutely nothing. It was as if Hyejin had completely disappeared off the face of the earth.

Wheein had even mobilized Moonbyul and Yongsun in her search, which wasn’t very helpful since neither of them had seen Hyejin before. Moonbyul kept saying that "the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on" wasn’t a good enough description and Yongsun, despite pretending, didn’t really want to find Hyejin. She was mad at a woman she didn't even meet for leaving Wheein like that. Wheein overheard Yongsun telling Moonbyul that she shouldn't care so much about someone that didn't care enough to say goodbye, but Yong never said that directly to her, just supported her instead. Wheein agreed and felt pathetic for caring so much but she couldn't help it, she didn't know how.

After a few weeks without any response Wheein decided that it had to stop. If Hyejin didn't want to be found then she wouldn't be looking. It was the right thing to do. And over the following months Wheein forced herself to forget. She moved on. She had other things to do, other places to go and other goals to achieve. Now, fifthteen years later, for example, her newest job is the best she’s ever had. Not that she considers killing Nazis a job, she could do it just for fun, of course, but the money is definitely a bonus. 

But how does a liquor dealer become a soldier, you might ask. Well, with enough hatred for the injustices of the world and the advantage of not having to worry about her life, it wasn’t a very difficult decision to be made. Wheein, Moonbyul and Yongsun willingly joined the Allies in 1940 after being recruited by an acquaintance during a visit to the UK. Despite being immortals they’re only an army of three, so there is only so much they can do. They know that there are others like them but it’s not like they have a book club or something like that, and they aren’t looking for it either. All the other immortals they’ve come to know since they can remember were extremely unpleasant. Anyway, after months of exhausting training, they began to take on special and selected services guided by their handler, Williams, to fulfill missions that only they could do in order to weaken the _Third Reich_.

"The Colditz Castle." Williams says as he places a folder full of papers in front of each one of them while they’re sitting side by side in front of a large conference table. “Or Oflag IV, if you prefer. It's your next stop.”

“A prison? Really?" Moonbyul complains before even opening the folder. "When are you going to send us to a cooler place, I don't know, maybe outdoors?"

“A beach would be nice, for a change.” Yongsun says as she opens the folder in front of her. "Isn't that the prison that the Germans keep bragging about that no one ever managed to escape during the First War?" She asks as she goes through the papers and looks at the pictures. Wheein is still reading the information on the first sheet quietly.

"Exactly." Williams replies as he sits in an armchair on the other side of the table, finally facing them. "There's a first time for everything."

"Great. And who do we have to set free?” Yongsun questions.

"Everyone." It takes all of them by surprise, making the three women turn their attention back to him.

"Everyone? Like in… all of them? You're kidding, right?” Yongsun answers with a disbelieving tone in her voice.

"I wish I was." Williams responds naturally.

"Oflag IV is the only prison that has more guards than prisoners, how do you expect us to get all of the inmates out of there?" Moonbyul asks as she analyzes the papers with more attention.

"I didn't say you have to get everyone out, I just said you have to let them go."

"I'm not following." Yongsun replies.

“The Colditz Castle maintains an unusual standard of vigilance over it’s captives. It’s a very high security prison with one guard per prisoner, daily searches and three defensive perimeters around the prison.” Moonbyul reads aloud.

“The prison is dedicated to both men and women who are considered the greatest enemies of the Third Reich. Once they’re here, the only way out is death.” Yongsun also reads an old newspaper sheet attached to the files, with a picture of the castle highlighted. “Words from Marshal Hermann Göring, the prison’s director. Sounds like a nice guy, huh?”

“Your mission is to break out with two people, only two, but you won’t be able to get out without creating a distraction. The plan is to release everyone inside, letting chaos takeover is the only way to get out of there and complete your goal.” Williams finally says.

“A rebellion.” Yongsun says. “Makes sense. We can't get everyone out but at least we give them all a chance to get away.”

"Okay, but how do we get in?" Moonbyul asks again.

“The castle was built on a volcanic rock mass. There is no way to get it from below, it has no underground passages. From above it’s also impossible, any type of suspicious activity would be shot down immediately. We only have one entry option...” Wheein intervenes in the conversation for the first time after reading all the information on the files. She already understood the plan.

"The front door." Yongsun and Moonbyul answer in unison.

"Exactly." Williams nods. “In the last report we got from our undercover agent he let us know that the castle has now 188 prisoners, including our guys. When you arrive, it will be 191.”

“And what crime are we possibly going to commit in order to be taken there? Only the most wanted ‘war criminals’ are sent there.” Moonbyul air quotes war criminals. “Nobody knows us. Discretion is part of our job.” She looks concerned. 

"They already took care of that." Wheein says, removing a sheet from the folder with her face stamped on it. The last sheet of each folder contains a wanted poster with a photo and false names for each one of them. 

“They even choose a nice photo. Look!” Yongsun says, flipping through her own folder until she finds hers and shows it to her friends. “Yeah, I have to admit it, you guys are good."

"The best.” Williams agrees. “The posters have already been distributed in the Leipzing district. Everyone there knows who you know. Our informer at the Saxony Nazi base has corroborated the false information we sent. Once you set foot in the city of Colditz you will be the most wanted woman there.”

"Can’t wait." Moonbyul says, looking more excited than she should.

"And who do we actually have to get out of there?" Wheein finally questions.

"I'm glad you asked." Williams places two wanted posters similar to theirs on the table.

**_WANTED_  
KNOWN AS  
HWASA  
✦ DEAD OR ALIVE ✦  
** **ℛℳ 50.000  
CASH REWARD**

**_WANTED_  
KNOWN AS  
IRENE  
✦ DEAD OR ALIVE ✦  
ℛℳ 50.000  
CASH REWARD**

Wheein feels like all the air has been sucked out of her lungs but she does her best not to let it show. The photo isn’t really good but Wheein would recognize that face anywhere. _It’s her_ . _Hyejin. Or Hwasa, now? What?_ But fifteen years later... how does she...

"These are their aliases but their real names are Ahn Hyejin and Bae Joohyun. They are immortals, just like you guys." Williams continues the explanation not giving Wheein much time to think. "They’re part of another unit that works undercover, but something went wrong on their last mission, someone made a mistake and we lost one of them..."

"How do you lose an immortal?" Wheein shoots. 

“Ahn and Bae are immortals, yes, but there were complications... that's why you shouldn't mix.” Williams says with rage in his voice, as if there’s something else he couldn't say. “In their attempt to save their partner they failed and got captured. It was twelve days ago and we haven’t been able to contact them ever since. As undercover agents they have to complete a long-term mission in two months in Italy, that’s why we need to get them out of there as soon as possible.”

It all made sense now. The connection she felt with the other woman, the weave of heat that went through Wheein’s body when Hyejin touched her hand, all of it. It’s because she’s immortal, right? It had to be. Although she didn't feel it when she met Yongsun or Moonbyul. Or did she? It's been a long time, there's no way she can remember. But she still remembers everything she felt with Hyejin.

Wheein’s always wanted to see her again, since the version of Hyejin who haunts her dreams can’t give Wheein the answers she’s looking for. Before today she just wanted to know why she had left without saying goodbye. She deserved at least that, didn't she? But now she has a whole new set of questions. How did a singer become an agent of the Allies? Did she going MIA in 1929 have anything to do with it? Was she ever really a singer or was she just playing Wheein since she’s an undercover agent? Was Wheein herself just a part of some fucked up mission? Fuck, she has so many questions. That’s why she decides not to say anything about knowing one of the women they’re going to rescue. After all, she didn't really know her, she had only met her once before, by coincidence. She can’t put the opportunity to see Hyejin again at stake. Yongsun and Moonbyul don't seem to have associated the name with the mysterious woman in Wheein's past since neither of them says anything about it, so she pulls herself together and decides to let it be. 

"When do we leave?" Wheein sounds anxious.

"Immediately." Williams gets up and walks towards the door that leads to his local office. "A vehicle will be waiting for you outside." He says gesturing to the other exit. They gather their files and prepare to leave. "Oh, and girls..." They’re about to walk out the door when Williams catches their attention again. “I hate to be the one to say it but you are the rescue team. And there is no _rescue team_ for rescue team, okay? Good luck." He completes and disappears through the door.

"What the fuck does it mean?" Moonbyul asks, sounding genuinely confused.

"That if we can't get out by ourselves we will rot in that place, Byul." Yongsun says placing her arm on Moonbyul’s shoulders and guiding her towards the door.

Wheein stays behind for a bit to assimilate all the new information she has just received. She goes back to the table, picks up the wanted poster with Hyejin's face on it and looks at the photo for a few seconds before being interrupted by Moonbyul's voice calling out for her. 

"Coming!" Wheein says, folding the paper carefully and putting it inside her backpack pocket. "I'm coming for you, Hyejin." She whispers before she runs to catch up with the other girls.

The castle was built in the city of Colditz, hence the name. The city is located in the district of Leipzig, in Germany, and the meeting had taken place in the district itself, so the trip to the city of Colditz is not a very long ride. The Colditz Castle, which is currently used to keep the most important “criminals” members of the Allies, could be seen from outside the city. It has more than nine hundred years of history and a total of zero successful escape attempts. Easy-peasy.

They have absolutely no idea of what would happen to them once they were inside. They probably wouldn't be together, of course, but the informer told Williams that they would have at least two hours together during the day, in the sunbath time, which is the time they would use to get the plan going. This informer is actually one of the guards and is also the one responsible for providing the tools for the rebellion, but this matter is not yet settled since it seemed impossible to carry it out in that fortress. Now, they have two weeks to get all of the inmates on board with the plan before the D-day. Fourteen days to start a rebellion. After going over the plan for the thousandth time, they split up to begin the mission.

The first one to get arrested is Moonbyul on Day 01. As planned, she makes a bit of a riot near the main square of the city because of a board game. After that, she gets recognized due to the wanted posters by one of the city guards and is taken to Oflag IV.

Yongsun goes two days later, on Day 03, but by accident. It happened after she got recognized in the market, but that didn’t hinder the plan at all. She’s sent to the prison on the same day and the news travels quickly to Wheein, who in the end was just upset about having to go to the market herself.

The next day Wheein is detained for literally shooting a guard with his own gun after he tried to intimidate some of the villagers from the place the girls were staying. After being identified, she’s sent to prison the next day.

On Day 05 they’re all in, which means the game is actually on now. In theory it shouldn’t be that hard since everyone there has an immense hatred for Nazis - especially their captors - and most of them feel like they just need an opportunity and the means to react. The number of guards wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that most of them had been there for months, being poorly cared for and therefore being considerably weaker. But almost all of the prisoners there are highly trained, so they’re counting on it to give them some advantage. The fact that the cells are daily inspected didn't help either, since they couldn't keep any kind of weapons in there. In addition to all of this, there is a rotation system where the cellmates are changed every single day to make it difficult for inmates to communicate. Really a fortress. At least until now.

On her first night there Wheein is luckily paired with Moonbyul as her cellmate. She feels considerably relieved once she enters her cell and sees that her friend is there looking safe and well, after all, Moonbyul was the first one to be taken there and Wheein really missed her. But on second thought, it wasn’t really luck since the prison’s female population is not that large. She was bound to be paired with one of her friends at some point, she just didn’t expect it to be so soon, but still, she’s very grateful for it. It makes her think that she’ll inevitably be paired with _that person_ soon, and she doesn't really know how she feels about it. Moonbyul and Wheein get into a hug as soon as the door behind Wheein is closed.

"How are you?"

"Never been better." Moonbyul replies in a playful tone. "How about you?"

"I can't wait to get out of here already." 

"I feel ya! That beach Yong mentioned sounds even more attractive now." Moonbyul says as she heads for the bed on the left corner of the room. "You can have the bed on the right, the mattress is better."

"Who has the guts to call this a mattress?" Wheein says indignantly.

"German rats, apparently."

"Jesus Christ." She exclaims in shock.

The cell is small and has only an old bed with no pillows and a thin mattress with ripped bed sheets on each corner of the room. The walls are made of stone and the door that sealed the place is cast iron. There is no window, only a square-shaped gap on the closed door, filled by four small bars. The only light in that place is coming from a weak lamp hanging from the highest part of the ceiling. It’s strategically positioned so that no one could reach it, so the light would stay on all night, probably the day too, to make the cell warmer.

"Any progress on the mission?" Wheein asks, staring at the lamp on the ceiling until her eyes start to burn.

“I've been talking to some people. It’s very difficult to talk to anyone for more than five minutes during sunbath, the guards are unbearable. I noticed that the physical situation of the inmates is better than I expected. Although they’re weaker they’re still in shape, I think it won’t be as difficult as we thought.”

"You have been here for three days and you’re already checking people out… I will definitely tell Yongsun" She jokes.

“For work! For the mission!” She blushes intensely.

"If you say so..." Moonbyul rolls up her old bed sheet and throws it at Wheein. Wheein immediately throws it back. 

“Anyways, the people I talked to have been very welcoming but I still haven't been able to identify which guard is Williams' informer. This is bothering me.”

“Don't worry, Williams said he will come to us, not the other way around. You don't have to look for him.” Wheein remembers.

"I can help it."

A comfortable silence takes over the place. Wheein is gathering the courage to ask about what is bothering her since she arrived.

"Have you spoken to Bae Joohyun?" She tries to sound casual. "Or Ahn Hyejin?"

"I talked to Hyejin yesterday for a few minutes, but I still haven't revealed my identity to her."

"How is she? Are they taking good care of her?” Wheein raises her voice and her body from the mattress but immediately regrets it since Moonbyul is looking at her with a confused look. She doesn’t want to explain everything now. "I mean, is she going to be useful on our mission or will we have to, I don’t know, drag her out of here?" She asks looking at a specific spot on the ceiling while she lays back on the bed. 

"She’s fine. Really, really fine, if you know what I mean.” Moonbyul suggests. “She’s much more beautiful than that bad photo gives, by the way.”

"I can imagine..." Wheein tries not to get carried away by the subject. “How about Bae Joohyun?”

"She's in solitary." She responds with concern in her voice “She irritated someone she shouldn't. Hyejin said she has been there for four days, so she should be leaving soon.”

"Hyejin?" Wheein asks, surprised. She’s only now realized that Moonbyul had called her by that. "You’re already on a first name basis, huh?"

"She insisted." Moonbyul shrugs. "She's nice."

"Right." Wheein tries to ignore the jealo-, no, the discomfort she feels in the pit of her stomach. "We'd better go to sleep, we have a long day tomorrow."

"You’re right." She answers by turning around and pulling the sheets up to her neck. "Good night, Puppwhee."

Despite hating the nickname, Wheein feels her heart getting warmer with affection. "Good night, Byulie." She says as she closes her eyes and tries to hold off the anxiety for the next day's events. She's going to see her again after fifteen damn years. Wheein decided that she won’t say anything at first so that the other girls don't realize that she knows Hyejin. She wants to talk to her alone after they leave that hellhole, but she doesn't know how Hyejin herself will act, so she’s still in uncharted territory. Before falling asleep, Wheein can almost feel the smell of red roses and vanilla that had been stuck in her mind since that remarkable night in 1929.

The next day marks six nights since Moonbyul's arrest, which means they have only eight days to carry on with the plan. After spending the morning exchanging information in their cell, Moonbyul and Wheein are taken to the courtyard for their timed sunbath with the other inmates. The both of them sat on the same large bench by an even larger table, keeping a certain distance not to raise any suspicion. A few minutes later Yongsun approaches and sits on the bench parallel to theirs on the other side of the table, back to back.

"Long time no see." Moonbyul jokes.

"How are you? Is everything okay?" Wheein asks worriedly.

"Good morning to you too." She responds carelessly. "I'm great. I had the best possible cellmate yesterday, guess who it was.”

"I was with Wheein, so it couldn't have been the bes-"

"Ahn Hyejin." Yongsun interrupts before Moonbyul can finish her sentence. Wheein turns to face Yongsun but Moonbyul stops her.

"What are you doing?"

"Sorry." Wheein makes a note to herself that she really has to start to control her impulses when it comes to Hyejin. She pulls herself together and tries again. "How was it? Is she okay?"

“I identified myself and told her the whole plan. I told her about you guys too and she's on board, of course. She told me everything she knows about this place and made some notes about the plan. She's brilliant. I'm starting to think that it might not be as difficult as we thought it would be.”

"And where is she now?" Wheein asks, looking around.

"Solitary." Yongsun shrugs.

"What do you mean, solitary?" Moonbyul gets a little unsettled. "How are we going to get her and freaking Bae Joohyun out of the damn solitary?"

"Relax." Yongsun says as she turns forward, facing the backs of the two girls and lowering her voice. “Do you remember Williams saying that his guard slash informer would come to us? So, he has already identified himself to Hyejin.” _There it is,_ _first name basis again_ , Wheein thinks. “Agent Ruschel. Bae is in solitary, so Hyejin asked Ruschel to take her there so she could tell her about the plan. She had to punch him in the face to make it happen, it was wild.” Yongsun sounds amazed. “Anyways, she wrote everything down on codes and will pass it to her under the door or something like that. To not raise any suspicions she will stay there for a few days. We just have to keep spreading the word.” She completes. 

"She’s hardcore." Moonbyul ponders and Wheein nods in agreement.

Wheein’s frustrated to be so close and yet so far from Hyejin at the same time, but there is nothing she can do about it. She has to focus. After talking with her friends for a little while they identified who were the most influential inmates to be contacted first, thus facilitating the flow of information for the other prisoners. Then, they split up to speak to them, each with a target in mind.

Hyejin only leaves the solitary two days later. When the time comes, Wheein’s current roommate tells her she’s seen her being taken to another cell before the doors were closed and once again Wheein gets anxious about the possible reunion. T _here is no way out now, it’s going to happen anyway_. The night before that day is yet another night where Hyejin invades Wheein's dreams. That time, when she finally manages to fall asleep, her dreams are filled by that unmistakable voice singing Crazy Blues as if it’s lullaby to her.

On Day 09, when the cell door opens for the sunbath the next day, Wheein’s already up by the door and ready to go to the courtyard. She feels her palms sweating and her heart beating faster with each step she takes. When she arrives, she spots Hyejin's unquestionable presence from a close distance. She’s sitting at one of the tables and supporting both of her feet on the bench, immersed in a conversation with Yongsun and another girl she recognizes as Bae Joohyun, from the poster. They’re seated on the long bench, each on either side of Hyejin's feet while they hear her speak. It's kind of even poetic, really, they’re looking at her as if every word she speaks is a must. Wheein would never judge them because of this, of course. There are other inmates nearby, sure listening, but none of them looks directly at her so as not to draw attention to the group. Wheein strides towards them, almost running, which caught the attention of the guards standing by the fence. 

"Inmate!" One guard shouts from distance and Wheein stops immediately. Suddenly all eyes are on her and she’s uncomfortable with the attention. “No running! I don't want to see any confusion!”

Wheein nods and walks at a normal pace towards the group. Hyejin’s wearing a ripped up uniform, her hair is on a ponytail and she has a small bruise on her chin that looks new - probably a result of the confusion that took her to solitary - but man, she looks beautiful.

They locked eyes and Wheein tries to read in her expression what’s going on in Hyejin's head but she can’t figure it out. The first time they met after fifteen years and Hyejin doesn’t even seem to notice the despair in the eyes of the woman who seeked her out for months after being ghosted.

"You almost caused a scene." Yongsun broke the silence. "But it's a good thing you arrived, we’re waiting for you."

"So this is the third part of your trio?" Hyejin gets down from the table to stay at Wheein's eye level. “I’ve only heard good things about you, Miss Jung. It's nice to finally meet you.”

"Wheein." She replies with her voice barely over a whisper. "It’s Wheein." 

“I would shake your hand but you know, physical contact is forbidden in the courtyard. Damn Germans think anything is a fight.” Hyejin says, her voice light and playful. "I’m Hyejin."

"I know who you are." Wheein's tone is dry, borderline rude, but Hyejin didn't seem to notice.

"Of course you do, you're here to get me out of this place." Hyejin answers with a smile on her face. “I already thank the others and I'm sorry it took me so long to get a chance to say that to you, but thanks. You didn't have to do that and yet you’re here, risking everything to save us.” She says nodding towards Bae Joohyun who also nods in agreement. "We’re both very grateful for you guys."

“It’s our job.” Wheein responds, taking a step back. "I better get going, we still have a lot of people to talk and we’re running out of time." She addresses the last sentence to Yongsun, avoiding making eye contact with Hyejin. "I will help Byul."

"Hope to see you again soon." Wheein hears Hyejin's voice after turning around and heading to the other side of the courtyard, where Moonbyul is talking to some people.

_She doesn't remember me._ Wheein thinks with a heavy heart. _Fifteen damn years I've been hung up to her but she doesn't even remember me._ Wheein keeps walking with slow steps so that she can organize her head. She didn't expect a warm or friendly welcome, of course not, but not even being recognized? Maybe some hesitation? But nothing? _Was she really so forgettable that she wasn’t even a page on the life of the woman she could write a whole chapter on?_ Yeah, that kind of hurts. But it’s all her fault, after all. She’s the one who mixed hopes with expectations and got herself in this situation. Hyejin owes nothing to her. That’s it, it’s over now. She just has to complete the mission and get it over with. Free herself from her own prison. And the real one she’s currently in, of course. 

But later that night when Wheein goes to sleep she feels like she’s 1929 again, after being left behind by the woman who didn’t even remember her name. She’s betrayed by her own mind again and again as she dreams about how warm Hyejin's touch is and how soft her lips are even though she wishes she had never had the chance to taste them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll have more Wheesa interactions soon, but first we need some drama.  
> And yeah, Wheein might be a little too intense sometimes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "See you soon?" 
> 
> “Soon." Hyejin nods and stands closer to her as Wheein closes her eyes, taking a deep breath and gathering the courage to let go. The idea of dying doesn’t scare her, sure, but she wasn’t a big fan of highs. "Wait!" Hyejin says when Wheein is about to let go, placing her own hands over Wheein’s and holding her still. Wheein opens her eyes but closes them again when she’s surprised by an unexpected but very welcome kiss from Hyejin. While their lips are touching it’s like there is nothing else to worry about in the world. There is no more time running out. There are no guards looking for them. There is no balcony leading to a near death experience. There is no evil castle from which they need to escape. Absolutely nothing, just the two of them and the moment they’re living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action is not my strong suit but I wanted to try some. After seeing Hwasa on the Refund Sisters' MV the idea seemed way more interesting, if you know what I mean.  
> Hope you enjoy.

**PART II - (2/2)**

**Leipzig, Saxony, GER (1944)**

Three days later, marking two days before D-day, everything’s on track. All the prisoners are aware of the plan and could barely wait to get on with it. In theory the plan’s simple. First, Agent Ruschel will activate a bomb outside the courtyard at the sunbath time. The guards will suppose the prison’s under attack and the security protocol will be initiated. Therefore, all inmates will be taken to the main dining hall, placed on the floor with their hands over their heads while they wait for further instructions. Once they’re inside, the other two bombs will be detonated. First, the second one by the director's office, which will lead a small part of the guards to be relocated to ensure Marshal Göring’s safety. Then, the last one will blow up right above the dining room entrance, annihilating the guards nearby and distracting the others so that inmates can start the attack.

The instructions given to the general inmates are limited to prevent any leaks, that way, only their leaders know the day and time of action. The rest of the prisoners were instructed to always be ready and attentive. Nevertheless, they were told to avoid the right corner of the courtyard and the dining area’s entry, the places where the bombs will defuse. Everyone's ready and waiting.

Wheein is doing well ignoring Hyejin and all the things she's been feeling for the past few days. She didn't have much to say to the other woman now that she knows the truth, honestly. Also, she is really trying to focus on getting out of that prison so she can go back to live her normal life and force herself to actually forget the existence of a certain woman who apparently had already forgotten hers. What she didn't expect was to be paired with Hyejin the night before the attack.

On Day 13, when Wheein enters her designated cell, Hyejin is already settled in one of the beds.

"Hey, good thing it’s you." Hyejin sits. "We haven't had a chance to talk yet."

"There's not much to talk about." Wheein lies on the other bed, looking at the ceiling with both hands supporting her head, missing the comfort of a pillow.

"I want to thank y-"

“You already did that. And we didn’t get out of here yet so there's no reason to be thankful for now.” Wheein interrupts her. Hyejin lets out a sad sigh and Wheein feels a little guilty, but she doesn't let it show.

"How long have you been around?" Hyejin tries to make conversation. 

"What do you mean? I arrived ten days ago, you know.”

"No. I meant... on earth, I guess? I mean, you’re an immortal, how long have you been around?” Hyejin's question confuses Wheein but she doesn't say anything about it. She’s sure she didn't tell Hyejin or Bae Joohyun that she’s also immortal but she doesn’t know if Yongsun or Moonbyul did. She believes they didn’t because they’re not allowed to do that, but still, Hyejin and Bae must have figured it out.

"Does it matter?"

Hyejin considers for a few seconds and after taking a deep breath she answers. "No, not really."

Once again Wheein feels guilty but she forces herself to ignore the feeling. She turns her back to Hyejin and faces the wall as she pulls the sheets up to her neck and tries to sleep. After a few minutes she hears Hyejin humming a song to herself. Not satisfied with just humming, soon she hears the other woman singing in a low voice:

_“I can't sleep at night  
I can't eat a bite  
'Cause the man I love  
He don't treat me right”_

_She remembers,_ Wheein thinks. _She remembers and she’s making fun of me._ There is no other reason for her to do that. If Hyejin remembers Wheein and acted like she didn't, it’s because she wants nothing to do with her. Why is she making sure that Wheein knows it? She was going to be better off if she continued to think the former singer didn't remember her. It’s cruel, for God's sake.

"What are y- are you kidding me?" Wheein stands up suddenly, unable to contain herself.

"Sorry." Hyejin says sitting on her bed again. "I wanted to let you know that I know who you are, that I remember you, but you didn’t seem open to conversation."

Wheein sits on her own bed, resting her elbows on her knees and putting her face in her hands. “And why do you want me to know that? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

"Because I’m sorry and I want to apologize."

“For leaving without saying goodbye after a one-night stand fifteen years ago? I think I’m good.” Wheein lies.

"No. For pretending I didn’t know you. It wasn’t polite but I panicked and didn't know what else to do.” Hyejin tries to explain calmly. 

"Panicked?” Wheein scoffs. “You looked just fine." 

"That’s thanks to you for causing a scene and giving me time to assimilate what was happening. If you had taken me by surprise I don't know what I would have done." Hyejin says and Wheein thinks for a moment.

"So you don't regret not saying goodbye?"

"I was on a mission, I had already risked too much.” Hyejin keeps a calm tone. 

"What? So I was really just part of a mission then, that's it?” Wheein feels like her stomach dropped.

“No, you’re the one who stopped me from completing my mission, actually. Damn your beautiful eyes and that leather jacket you were wearing, Jung Wheein.” Hyejin says with a charming smile on her face and Wheein’s heart skips a beat.

"I- I’m not following." Wheein’s genuinely confused. And also a little flushed.

“When first I met you I was on a mission, Wheein.” Hyejin takes a deep breath, gets up from her bed and sits down next to Wheein. “I had a target that night. A mafia prick who was at the audience, to be more specific. I should have gone home with him to steal some files from his office. Joseph was going to introduce me to him but he took me to you first and that was the end of me. _You_ showed up throwing me completely off my game _._ ” Hyejin puts a hand on Wheein’s thigh. “I blew my cover that night, eight months worthy of research and it was all gone, in a blink of an eye. The moment I left with you it was all over. The man I was on to found out about the mission and started looking for me instead. I had to go to London to avoid more trouble. If I stayed in the US I would lose my job and put a whole lot of innocent people at risk.”

“But- but you could at least have left a note? A ‘thank you for the wonderful night even though it will never happen again but have a nice life’ maybe.” Wheein uses humor to cover up how shocked she is by all the new information she just got. Hyejin had really liked her enough to risk her job. She didn't know how to react to that.

“It was a wonderful night, indeed. But no, I couldn't. I don't do immortals.” Wheein raises an eyebrow at Hyejin's accidental suggestion. "I mean, I don't have relationships with immortals, not even friendships.”

“What about Bae Joohyun?” She remembers her partner. Hyejin takes her hand off Wheein's thigh and Wheein misses the contact immediately.

“Joohyun is different.” _Oh,_ Wheein is taken by surprise. Does it mean what she thinks it means? “It's complicated. We’ve been friends since forever." Hyejin explains and Wheein releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

"So you did know that I was an immoral back then." It’s an affirmation but it sounds more like a question.

"Yes, I saw your mark as soon as we shook hands in the cabin at Joseph's bar." Wheein lifts her sleeve and looks at the birthmark that every immortal she has ever known has on their wrist. Hyejin also lifts her sleeve and shows Wheein her own mark. The lemniscate.

"Makes sense…" Wheein ponders.

“And yet I went home with you against all of my principles. That's why I didn't say goodbye, It was too risky, it was better that way. I'm really sorry for how things played out. But I will try to leave a note next time.” Hyejin jokes.

Wheein doesn't remember seeing the same mark on Hyejin's wrist the first time they met. Maybe it's because she was wearing several bracelets that night. Or maybe Wheein was just too preoccupied looking at other parts of her body to notice. At this point, it doesn’t really matter. So now Wheein makes a mental list of the things she knows: 1) Hyejin remembers her. She really does. 2) Hyejin also wants absolutely nothing to do with her. _She doesn’t do immortals_ , or whatever that means. It’s not like she’s entitled to have something with Hyejin or anything like that, Wheein knows it. In fact, she doesn’t even know what she really wants. Until now, all she’s wanted was answers and now that she’s got them she doesn’t really know what to do. The right thing to do is to end this. That’s if there is anything to be ended, to begin with, since they actually haven't started anything.

"There won’t be a next time." Wheein answers as she plays with her own hands, without making eye contact.

"Yeah, you’re right." Hyejin gets up and goes back to her own bed. “Anyway, I just wanted to clean the air. In case you have any questions, I’m an open book now.”

"Okay." Wheein has a lot of questions but her pride doesn’t let her ask any of them. Why doesn't Hyejin let herself have a relationship with an immortal? What's the story behind it? And what about Bae? Are they really just friends? Would she look too desperate if she asks that? She decides to stay quiet as heavy and tense silence takes over the place. After a few minutes the air feels suffocating and Wheein chooses to break the silence.

"I'm sorry about your friend."

"What?" Hyejin sounds confused, as if Wheein had just woken her up with the comment.

“Williams said that you and Bae lost someone on the mission that brought you here. I am really sorry." Wheein says sincerely.

"Oh, did he tell you the whole story?" 

"No, he just said it happened."

"Of course he would do that." Hyejin's tone is harsh.

"Do you know him?" She is curious about her reaction.

"He's an old... friend, if anyone can even call him that." 

"I can't imagine anyone who would call him a friend." Wheein says, making a face and Hyejin laughs.

"Me neither."

After that, silence fills the place again, but this time it’s more than comfortable.

"Good night and… luck tomorrow." Hyejin says before she tries to sleep.

"You too." Wheein replies.

Hyejin starts to sing Crazy Blues again and Wheein falls asleep without knowing if it’s really happening or if she’s just dreaming again.

On the next day everything happens too fast.

The most awaited day by Colditz Castle’s residents has arrived after what seems to be an eternity and Hyejin mutters another "good luck" to Wheein before they leave their shared cell. The both of them ignore the way their hands keep touching and all the feelings that come along with that as they walk towards the courtyard. As soon as they’re outdoors, Wheein spots Yongsun and Moonbyul sitting in the same place as always with Bae and some other inmates. On their way to them Hyejin suddenly grabs Wheein's wrist, stopping her from moving any further. Wheein looks around worriedly to see if any guards saw the action before turning back to Hyejin with a confused look on her face.

"Wheein, I-" The first bomb goes off preventing Hyejin from completing her sentence. The explosion raised enough dust to prevent anyone from being able to see clearly and screams of help took over the place.

After a few seconds Wheein sees at least ten guards and two inmates injured by shrapnel from the explosion. On the other corner she sees a few other inmates engaging in physical combat with the guards. Either they didn’t understand that the fight would take place in the dining hall or they were just too eager for the battle. The rest of the guards start to shout out and guide the prisoners into the building, directing them to the dining area as it was instructed by the security protocol.

When Wheein regains conscience she notices that she is on the floor, lying down with her hands over her ears due to loud noises. She feels two hands touching her shoulders, trying to lift her up and shaking her back to reality. She looks up and sees Hyejin shouting something that she can’t quite make out what it is at first. 

"We have to go now!" She reads her lips. "Come on, Wheein, we have to go!" Wheein finally hears the voice of the other woman and manages to react. She gets up with her help and follows Hyejin, who is now holding her hand and guiding them towards the gate that leads back to the castle. Once they reach the dining hall they’re suddenly separated by one of the guards and Wheein is abruptly thrown at a corner by the entry door. The place fills up quickly and all other inmates who arrive are placed on the floor.

Due to the aggressiveness of the explosion, Wheein is only now regaining all of her senses back. Looking around she realizes that she’s next to several guards just under the dining room entrance, exactly where a third bomb is supposed to go off. She knows she has to get out of there but she doesn't know how. Wheein tries to get up but is kicked by one of the guards, falling back on the floor where she remains until she makes eye contact with Yongsun, who is also on the floor but on the other side of the big room. Yongsun is screaming at her, telling her to run, commanding her to get up and come to her with despair in her eyes. She has to go. Wheein looks around and gets up again, running as fast as she can while she hears screams and more confusion around her. As soon as she hears the first gunshot she is hit by a body. It wasn't a bullet, though. Insted, Hyejin had just tracked her, throwing the two of them under a table on a considerably safer side of the place.

"Are you alright?" Hyejin checks on her, looking to see if she has gotten hurt. 

"What are you doing?" Wheein asks, adjusting her clothes.

“Saving you? The guards were starting to shoot.”

"I'm an immortal, asshole, do you think a shot would kill me?"

“Not kill but it would definitely knock you out. We don't have time for that, no one would stay behind to drag you out of here.”

"Whatever." Wheein says dismissively.

"I think the word you’re looking for is thanks." Hyejin raises an eyebrow.

Wheein’s about to answer when she looks up and sees a gun taped under the table.

"The son of a bitch did it." She says, referring to Agent Ruschel.

"Wha-Oh." Hyejin starts to ask but follows Wheein's line of vision, spotting not only guns but also knives and wood sticks. 

"Come on, we need to tell the others."

The widespread confusion starts to calm down since almost all of the inmates are already lying on the floor. Wheein and Hyejin leave their safe place under the table and look around for Moonbyul, Yongsun and Bae.

Once they spot them Wheein signals the tables, letting them know they should look under it. The three of them look and identify the weapons. Apparently, all the tables in the hall had weapons taped under it, among knives, pieces of wood and other things they could use to fight back. Ruschel really came through. The second explosion can be heard from distance and a group of guards leaves the hall towards the director’s office, following the plan as expected. When the third and last explosion hits the main dining hall, knocking down several other guards and a few of the slower inmates, Wheein is the first to react, taking one of the guns from under one of the tables and shooting at the guards who came to the rescue of the recently buried ones. She really missed killing Nazis.

Following Wheein's lead, Yongsun, Moonbyul, Hyejin, Bae and the other inmates go for the weapons and start to strike back. Most tables are thrown up and turned over to be used as barricades in combat.

The extraction part, on the other hand, is the most complicated thing of the breaking out plan. Because they’re unable to leave through the same castle entrance they came in due to security perimeters, they have to go up the castle’s back towers and well… throw themselves into the sea that bathes that side of the prison. The fall would probably kill any normal human but to them, it would only - at the worst case scenario - knock them unconscious for a few minutes.

"We have to get out of here now!" Wheein screams so her voice can be heard through the gunshots. "Byul?" She turns to the most qualified person to set up an exit route.

Moonbyul watches the chaos for a few seconds before deciding on the best way to go. "We have to go out by the same door we got in." She points to the main entry where the remains from the last explosion covers almost half the exit. They’ll have to jump through it. The hall has a second exit but most prisoners fled towards it when the confusion started and most of the guards followed them, so the main conflict has been moved to their side. Moonbyul is right, the main entry is really their only option. “I'll go ahead with Yong and we’ll position some tables as barricades to create a base. You guys cover us now and once we get there we’ll cover you. Then we jump and go up the stairs.” The team nods. Moonbyul and Yongsun run towards the door while Bae, Wheein and Hyejin shoot at anyone who might stop them.

As soon as Moonbyul and Yongsun reach their goal and get the tables set, Bae is the first to run towards the improvised fort.

"Your turn." Wheein tells Hyejin.

“No, you can go ahead. I'm a better shooter.”

“You’re not- You know what? I won't discuss it with you right now. My mission is to get you out of here, just do as I said and go!” Hyejin locks eyes with Wheein one last time before nodding and following her lead. 

When it’s Wheein's turn, however, a lot of guards have returned to the main hall, leaving the secondary exit. She runs as fast as she can but when she’s almost reaching the barricade she feels a severe pain on her leg. She’s been shot.

"Fuck!" She screams as she reaches them and falls behind the barricade, squeezing her bloody calf. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Wheein!" Moonbyul tries to turn to pay attention to her friend but Yongsun stops her since they have to worry about the guards. Hyejin has already left her post and is by Wheein's side trying to make a compress with her own hands.

“Byul, I need you here! Let Hyejin take care of her.” Yongsun warns. 

"Bae??? Help!” Hyejin turns to her friend.

"Get your gun back and take my place, I'll take care of it." Bae says as she rips a piece of her own shirt off to make a tourniquet.

"She’s a doctor." Hyejin explains as she takes her position and shoots at the enemies on the other side of the dinner hall. 

"How are you?" Yongsun asks without looking at her quickly. 

“There's a fucking bullet hole in my leg. I'm thriving.” Wheein responds as she groans of pain.

"She's fine." Moonbyul answers for her. "Radiant as always."

“It went through, it’s clean.” Bae says after finishing the improvised tourniquet, getting her gun back and returning to her post by Hyejin's side. “It will start to heal soon, we’re all set." 

“We have to get out of here and go to the stairs before the guards return from the director's office. They’ll come straight to the other side of this door.” Moonbyul says. "Can you walk?"

Wheein puts her weight on her injured leg and feels a pain so strong that it almost knocks her out. "Barely, but I’ll try."

"I'll help you." Hyejin hangs the gun on her chest and puts Wheein's arm around her shoulders to support her injured leg. “Someone goes ahead to see if the aisle is clear. I won't be able to shoot well like that.”

"Guys, you don't need to-" Wheein starts. 

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Yongsun scolds her. “We don’t leave anyone behind. Especially you."

"I'll go ahead." Bae says and jumps through the rubble into the hallway. "Everything is clean, c’mon."

Hyejin helps Wheein to jump and Bae helps her down on the other side. Hyejin, Moonbyul and Yongsun follow closely and soon all of them are gathered in the hallway, the wreckage from the explosion separating them from the chaos and the guards. Once they find the access that connects the main hall of the castle to the back towers they need to reach, the path looks lighter and Bae volunteers herself to run ahead to make sure the route is clear. Wheein and Hyejin follow in the middle as fast as Wheein can walk while Moonbyul and Yongsun follow behind to cover them.

"Thanks." Wheein says all of a sudden. 

"We didn’t get out of here, there's no reason to be thankful yet." Hyejin proudly quotes Wheein’s line from last night. 

"Using my words against me again?" It makes Wheein smile.

"I do that a lot, it’s a gift." 

"But I mean it. I have been rude to you for no reason and you have been nothing but good to me.” Wheein argues. 

"You have your reasons." 

"They’re not good enough."

"Yes, they are." Hyejin affirms. 

"Anyway, thank you. For real." Wheein really means it. 

"Thank me again once we’re up there." Hyejin says when they reach the stairs.

"Great, now is the best part." Wheein says sarcastically. “Remember when you said nobody would be dragging me out?” Wheein jokes.

“Shut up.”

When they get to the first stair step they hear others steps approaching and both of them hold their guns, ready to attack. Luckily, it’s just Moonbyul and Yongsun, but they didn’t have good news.

"There are almost thirty guards coming this way, we gotta run."

"Well, bad news for me then." Wheein says pointing to her own leg.

"Fuck it, we'll carry you up the stairs if we have too."

"That’s not going to happen." Wheein argues. 

"I have a better idea." Yongsun says, nodding at the aisle on the right. “Byul and I are going to distract them by taking them there. At the end there is a staircase identical to this one that leads to the next tower, we’ll jump from there. We'll probably still get there first, we’re just going to buy you guys some time for you to get up there without anyone following you.”

"It's dangerous. Splitting up is always dangerous.” Wheein thinks aloud.

“But it’s a good plan. It's the only way." Hyejin points.

"I'm sorry that you have to do this." Wheein says, concern and regret overflowing in her voice.

“You have done so much more for us, let we do that for you. We’ll be alright." Yongsun promises with her hand on Wheein's shoulder.

"See you soon, Puppwhee." Moonbyul says goodbye.

"Take care of each other." Wheein warns. 

"Always. Now go!” 

Wheein goes back up the stairs with Hyejin's help while Moonbyul and Yongsun stay below waiting for the guards. As soon as they arrive up there Bae hugs Hyejin warmly and Wheein once again ignores how jealous it makes her feel. 

“Gosh, why did you take so long? I thought something had happened. Are you okay?” Bae checks Hyejin out to see if she's hurt. 

"Thanks to Yong and Byul, yes." Wheein answers annoyed by Bae’s lack of support. She doesn’t like the fact that she didn't come back to see if everything was okay since they took longer than expected.

"Are they… are they okay too?" She asks, stammering.

"They will be." Hyejin promises looking into Wheein's eyes. "Don’t worry." She turns her attention back to Bae. 

"Okay, so that’s our cue." Bae says and heads to the porch as the other girls follow her. The view is really beautiful but also scary. The waves are not very rough but the way they hit the rocks down the structure of the castle sends chills through Wheein’s body. "Thank you, Wheein." Bae says as she holds Wheein's hands and kisses them. "We couldn't get out of here if it wasn’t for you."

"I didn't do it alone." She pulls her hands back nicely. 

"I know. And I will make sure to thank the others as soon as we meet again.” Bae glances at Hyejin and moves closer to the edge. "Bye!" She sits on the porch’s balcony and throws herself towards the great void towards the sea. Neither Wheein nor Hyejin have the courage to watch the fall.

"Your turn." Hyejin says.

"You first."

“We’re not going to do it again, please. Remember what happened the last time you didn't hear me.” She points at Wheein's calf, who moves in discomfort. Nevertheless, Wheein notices that the wound is finally starting to heal. Better late than never.

"Fine." Wheein sits on the balcony. "See you soon?" 

“Soon." Hyejin nods and stands closer to her as Wheein closes her eyes, taking a deep breath and gathering the courage to let go. The idea of dying doesn’t scare her, sure, but she wasn’t a big fan of highs. "Wait!" Hyejin says when Wheein is about to let go, placing her own hands over Wheein’s and holding her still. Wheein opens her eyes but closes them again when she’s surprised by an unexpected but very welcome kiss from Hyejin. While their lips are touching it’s like there is nothing else to worry about in the world. There is no more time running out. There are no guards looking for them. There is no balcony leading to a near death experience. There is no evil castle from which they need to escape. Absolutely nothing, just the two of them and the moment they’re living. 

"Thanks." Wheein says after the kiss, while they’re looking into each other's eyes. “You told me to thank you when you got up here and I think I have never been this high. So... thank you.”

"You’re welcome." Hyejin says with a smile on her face as she releases Wheein's hands and takes a step back.

After that Wheein finally let go of the balcony and let her body fall back, Hyejin's smile being the last thing she sees before the free fall.

"Waaaaakkkkeeee uuuupppppp." Wheein suddenly sits on the sand, coughing as she draws water from her lungs. Moonbyul, who was by her side shaking her, now sits next to Wheein and waits for her to compose herself. "You took forever to get here, we almost left you behind." 

"You’re okay!" Wheein jumps on Moonbyul giving her a hug that throws both of them into the wet sand. Only then Wheein realizes that they’re in a kind of deserted beach. She can see the Colditz Castle at the horizon, smoke coming out of the place. They’re free. 

"Of course I’m okay. I’m me!" Moonbyul says pushing Wheein and removing the sand from the body.

"Where are the others?" Wheein says through coughs, getting up to clean herself up a little. She puts her weight over her injured leg and notices that the wound is healing well since she no longer feels pain.

"I’m here." Yongsun appears behind them with three backpacks, their backpacks, throwing one for each.

"How do you do these things?" Moonbyul jumps and complains from the scare she’s got. Wheein, on the other hand, is thankful to see Yongsun and goes for a hug.

“Williams just left those. There's a vehicle waiting for us on the sidewalk. Come on." Yongsun completes.

“What about Ahn and Bae? They’re already there?” Wheein puts the backpack on and leads the way hoping to find Hyejin there.

"We haven't seen them since we got here." Moonbyul points, copying Wheein's action.

“Williams said that they’re safe and well. They went away to prepare for their next mission. Thanks to us, of course. But we won’t see them again, I guess. We’re done with the mission.” Yongsun takes the lead towards the sidewalk.

"Not even a thank you? Really? People these days..." Moonbyul complains as she follows Yongsun and Wheein is left behind while the two of them keep talking.

 _We won’t see them again,_ Wheein repeats in her head. _She probably knew that we wouldn't have a chance to meet again._ She lets out a sad laugh, once again disappointed with how things played out, _but it’s probably better this way_ , she thinks. She stops and takes her backpack off. From the small pocket she retrieves Hyejin's wanted poster. Wheein touches her own lips remembering the kiss Hyejin left there earlier and looks at the photo as she sighs to herself.

 ** _WANTED_  
KNOWN AS  
HWASA  
✦ DEAD OR ALIVE ✦  
** **ℛℳ 50.000  
CASH REWARD**

 _Wanted?,_ she thinks to herself, _you don’t know the half of it_.

Even though she left and despite everything that has happened, Wheein has a feeling that it wasn’t the last time she had set her eyes on Ahn Hyejin. She releases the poster off her hand and watches as the wind takes it away immediately, the piece of paper fading away over the sea.

“Hey, wait for me!” Wheein puts the backpack again and runs to catch up with her friends while her own heart burns just as the castle behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wheein knows that she has feelings for Hyejin but she doesn't know the exact nature of these feelings yet. She’s definitely attracted to her, sure, but it’s not just physically, she feels like something bigger than her has been pushing her towards the other woman since they’ve met. Wheein likes Hyejin's attention and her presence when they’re together but she hates it when she disappears without explanation. Hates the emptiness that longs in her heart once she’s gone. They’ve spent a lot more time apart than together, but, so far, the time they've had together was worth the double than the time they’ve been apart. But what if she’s the only one who feels that way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and most important: Athlete Wheein! Yeah, she's here because I think about this Wheein a lot.
> 
> Second: I have no idea how archery actually works, I just tried to put it in a simple way to fit the story, so I apologize for the mistakes.
> 
> And third: Yes, I know that Soojin is also Korean but I needed to change it for the story to make sense.

**PART III - (1/3)**

**Mexico City, CDMX, MEX (1968)**

The third time they met was both Wheein's favorite and, at the same time, one of her most painful memories. It was when everything changed.

Unlike last time, Wheein didn’t look for Hyejin - although she definitely suggested a trip to Italy, where she knew the other woman would be three months after their last meeting in Germany, which could not be done due to her own service schedule. She also didn't ask Williams where Hyejin was or whether they would be able to see each other again due to work in the future.

The only thing she did was tell her longtime best friends, Moonbyul and Yongsun, all about Hyejin. It happened months later on a drunken night when the girls were celebrating the end of the war and with that, the end of their services to the Alliance. They were sitting by a bar table at their favorite pub in London, The Holborn, and after singing and drinking to the Nazis’ defeat as they were talking about their favorite missions, Wheein, without a second thought, slipped Hyejin's name and the whole story in one breath. A few minutes later Moonbyul and Yongsun were aware of everything, from the first time they met on that busy night in Illinois to their last contact at that chaotic afternoon in Leipzig.

Despite being scolded for not sharing all of this before - that’s from Yongsun, of course - and hearing countless jokes about how whipped she was - courtesy of Moonbyul, obviously - the two of them were very supportive and understanding. Moonbyul even suggested that they should look for Hyejin again, but Wheein felt in her heart that she shouldn't do that. She was sure that if they were to meet each other again, the reunion would happen naturally. And it did, more than twenty years later.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jung Wheein, representing South Korea."_

Wheein enters the arena for her first match on a particularly hot afternoon after hearing her name echoing through the loudspeakers. She’s ready, confident and thirsty for some competition. Today is the day the general qualifying matches will take place to define the last ranked teams and who each one will face in the next phase. Wheein watched several matches until her own turn came, which is the last series of the day. Her name is also the last one to be called and her five other opponents are already at their own lanes when she comes in greeting them with a respectful bow before stopping at her post, waiting for the match to start. 

Wheein has always had a special passion for sports, for as long as she could remember. From football to basketball. From volleyball to ice skating. She has always loved watching every sport she could and one of her favorite hobbies in recent years had been to personally watch competitions around the world, until one day she decided to participate herself.

It all started as a summer joke between her and Yongsun, much to Moonbyul’s dislike, since she was never good at any kind of sport. They were involved in a series of small competitions - a mini Olympics, if you might - during a lively summer some years ago. The hype of their own games was so big that they ended up in Finland, 1952, to watch their first Olympics together. After that, the three of them made a promise to watch every edition of the summer games live, which led them to the beginning of Wheein’s journey to become an Olympic athlete.

In Rome, 1960, Wheein developed a huge crush on one particular athlete, Seo Soojin, a Chinese archer who won the gold medal in the 70 meters Women's individual games that year. Wheein made a point of congratulating her personally, therefore she was invited to the celebration party at the Olympic village with the rest of Soojin’s winning staff. And as expected, Wheein woke up the next morning on the other woman's bed after a private celebration the two of them had the night before. She doesn't quite remember how it all happened, - she had way too much to drink - but she vaguely remembers Soojin putting the gold medal around her neck and pulling her closer, telling Wheein how beautiful she looked and how well it fitted her. She also still remembers how excited she was with that piece of gold around her neck.

One thing led to another and after that night they found themselves in a brief but intense relationship that lasted over a year. Soojin taught Wheein everything about archery. In the beginning it was only for fun, just a way so the two of them could spend more time together. But during the war Wheein had received several praises about her impeccable aim, - not that she had ever told Soojin about that - which turned out to be a real talent since she became a really great archer as well. She fell in love with the art of archery, but she never really managed to fall in love with Soojin.

A voice in the back of her head kept telling Wheein that her heart already belonged to someone else but she ignored it as much as she could. Hyejin has been a continuous thought in Wheein's head for a long, long time, way more than she would like to admit. But she knew she couldn't live just waiting for someone to come or not come back to her life, so she didn’t. She kept living her life at it fullest. It wasn't as if Wheein had forgotten about the other woman - it was definitely impossible - but she also didn't let the idea of Hyejin dominate her life. Soojin, on the other hand, although she really loved Wheein, she knew that those feelings were not as reciprocal as they should be. And better than prolonging a relationship that had no future, causing a great amount of distraction in their professional lives (Soojin’s number one rule is no distractions!) they decided to put an end to it.

However, her relationship with Soojin didn’t end badly. It was a mutual decision that did not create much headache, or even heartache, for that matter - at least not for Wheein. They followed different paths and Wheein invested in her archery career. She even went back to her hometown, in South Korea, where she spent the last years training to get to where she’s today.

Moonbyul and Yongsun have always been very supportive. They’ve traveled much more than Wheein in past years - Wheein accompanied them at least once a year, so they could spend more time together - but they were around most of the time. When Wheein didn't qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 64 she was heartbroken. She almost gave up, but her friends wouldn't let her stop. She took a gap year to relax and travel in the company of her best friends and returned for training soon after. She came back feeling so much better that she was able to feel the improvement in her performance as soon as she got home. She felt ready and confident for the next one.

 _"In your marks..."_ The narrator's voice echoes through the loudspeakers once again, letting them now that the match is about to start.

In theory the game is really simple: each archer shoots three arrows per series; after each series the shooter waits for the next opponents to shoot their own series; at the end of 10 series, totaling 30 arrows each, there is a ten minutes break and after that each athlete shoots another 30 arrows divided into series just like in the first period of the game. In the end, as expected, the athletes with the most points qualified to the next phase, and this is what Wheein really likes: the knock-out stages. She finds it much more interesting. The 1x1 competitions, only one opponent to keep an eye on, only one person to beat. It’s all way more personal, just as she likes. 

The sound of a loud horn indicates that the game has just started. It’s her turn now and Wheein has tweety seconds to shoot each arrow once she removes it from the quiver - that way each series lasts a maximum of one minute. Wheein takes her arrow carefully, places it on the bow and raises it slowly, aiming at her target. The sling is firm on her arm and she gently pulls the bowstring further as she feels the cold material touch her own nose. Wheein closes her left eye and aims precisely at the 10 mark, taking one last deep breath before letting the arrow go. Once it flows straight to her target she can hear the crowd vibrating around the bleachers. 

Usually Wheein manages to block out all the noises around her when she’s playing. It’s a skill she learned from Soojin, one of the first things she’s taught her. She blocks out all of the external things - all of the distractions, as Soojin always says - and focuses all of her energy and attention on the arrow in her hands. Eventually she lets herself get carried away and pops the bubble she created just for a few seconds so she can hear her teammates, coaches and of course, the fans.

Hours after that first perfect arrow, Wheein leaves the arena a little upset but still forces a smile in response to the congratulations she received on her way back to the locker room accompanied by her teammates. She got the best ranking of the South Korean team, booking herself the 7th overall position, but even so she was not satisfied with her performance since she didn't get into the top five. There are three categories divided by distances: 30, 50 and 70M and Wheein is disputing the most difficult of them all, the last one, so she’s well aware of the big challenge she’s facing.

She reaches the locker room and once again is hit by a wave of congratulations and pats on her back. After a brief but necessary meeting that included a lot of advices and tips from their coaches on how to improve their performances - more for the rest of the group than for Wheein herself - Wheein is released of her athlete obligations for the rest of the day. Now she only has to meet with her team again on the next day for training, since the next phase of the competition will be only in two days. She gets out of her white uniform, takes a shower and says her goodbyes as she leaves the locker room behind.

Moonbyul and Yongsun are waiting in the lobby. They agreed to watch a wrestling match later that day and Wheein was particularly excited for it this morning, but now she no longer feels the same enthusiasm. Deep in thoughts, Wheein lets her feet guide her out of the arena when she feels two strong arms around her neck.

"YOU WERE AMAZING!!!" She doesn’t have to look to know it’s Moonbyul.

"She's right." Yongsun appears shortly after, hugging her animatedly. "Congratulations!" Wheein feels a little better in her best friends' sandwich hug. 

"Let go of me, I can't breathe." Wheein fights to break free once she is satisfied.

“Do you guys know my friend here? Robin Hood wishes he had her talent! She's a beast!!!” Moonbyul yells at the people around them at the same time she points at Wheein. The smaller girl blushes deeply and glances desperately at Yongsun, who is looking very, very amused and clearly holding back a laugh.

"Yong, do something." Wheein pleads.

"Fine. Okay, Byul, stop embarrassing her!" Yongsun takes one of her hands to shut Moonbyul’s mouth as she tries to restrain her with the other, successfully shutting her up.

"I'm just trying to be a good friend." She bites Yongsun's hand so she can speak freely. “Did you see us at the bleachers? I screamed as loud as I could.” She’s still trying to break free but Yongsun is stronger.

“I didn't see anything because I was way too focused on getting the job done but I'm sure you were great. Now stop screaming.”

"Ungrateful!" Moonbyul shoots but the smile on her face betrays her words. "We are so proud of you, Puppwhee." Yongsun finally releases Moonbyul and they stand side by side.

"Yes, we really are." Yongsun agrees and Wheein's eyes are suddenly filled with tears, hearing the sincerity in their voices. 

“Thank you, really.” Wheein says. “But I could have done better, I could have been in the top five. I should have, actually, if I’d just-." She never loses the habit of pushing herself too hard, but her friend doesn’t let her finish the sentence. 

"Oh, shut up." Yongsun puts a hand on her shoulder. “You got an excellent position. There are sixteen competitors, Wheein, and you’re facing the 10th in the next stage, that’s awesome. You’ll be great, like always."

“Yeah and you know what? We all know that you are much better in the knockout stages. You’ll be great.” It actually comforts Wheein’s heart a little bit. “Oh, and Soojin got what? 14th? 15th? I thought she would do better, actually.” Moonbyul points.

"And so the student becomes the master." Yongsun jokes. 

“Oh, no.” Wheein explains. “She always takes it easy at the beginning because she likes to face the strongest competitors right at the start. It's her strategy. This way she will be facing the second or third place, I guess.“ Wheein has a slight flashback of the Chinese athlete telling her about this on a date, when they were still together: _‘just enough to qualify and take out the best opponents first._ ' She could hear Soojin’s voice saying the words in her head. Wheein, on the other hand, likes to give her best right from the start, that’s why the 7th position upset her. But Moonbyul is right: she is much more confident in the 1x1 clashes. Giving it a second thought, she believes that’s not as bad as she thinks, so she gets excited again.

"Whatever." Moonbyul interrupts her thoughts. "Let's go before we’re late for the match."

"You don't even like wrestling." Yongsun points as they reach the sidewalk, looking for a cab.

"I like the players, not the game" She responds with a wink earning a rough poke from Yongsun as Wheein tries to hide her laugh.

The rest of the day is incredible. After watching the wrestling match they go to a volleyball game. The advantages of having an all access credential at the Olympics is something that Wheein plans to take full advantage of. When the night comes they decide to head home after having dinner at a local restaurant. Yongsun loved the burritos; Moonbyul regretted asking guacamole _(avocados should never be used like that!_ , she complained) and asked for mixiotes instead; Wheein opted for her familiar and simple tacos. After that, Wheein, by cab, left Moonbyul and Yongsun at the hotel they’re staying at with the promise of meeting them again at the same place on the next day, after her training session. The cab headed back to the Olympic village which was built right next to the arena where the archery competitions are taking place.

The village is made up of several buildings of typical Mexican architecture built especially for this event. All of the housing is composed of a large bedroom with a bathroom and a closet bigger than Wheein would ever need for just a month's stay. Also, the rooms on the first floor have the privilege of having a private balcony, which luckily was Wheein's case. She’s staying at the second building, right at the entrance, which is very convenient for her. When the cab leaves her at the concierge, Wheein identifies herself at the entrance and walks in fast, but once she arrives at the empty room she makes a decision without thinking twice: she changes her clothes, picks up her equipment and returns to the now empty arena to train on her own.

The arena is almost completely empty but she can’t help but notice that some other people had the same idea as her. Not only archery but also some wrestling and artistic gymnastics athletes are training all around the place, taking advantage of the space since it's the closest one to the village. She chooses a lane - the same she competed on today -, sets her equipment, turns the timer on and gets ready in the first shot. One beep every twenty seconds, one arrow at a time.

She starts a series of five shots hitting four of them right in the middle of the target and cursing the one she missed. An hour went by and the other athletes left the place without her even noticing. Wheein just kept going, walking back and forth to the target to get the five arrows off, just to make room so she could shoot them again. She starts to feel her fingers tingling but she doesn't want to stop. In the last try she took, her tired fingers accidentally let an arrow escape before the right time and it ended up going in an extremely wrong direction, but fortunately with no danger to anyone.

"Fuck!” Wheein curses aloud as she lightly drops the bow on the floor and starts to massage one hand with the other in order to stop the tingling in her fingers.

"It's the first one you miss tonight." A voice says from behind her. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Wheein freezes right at the spot, completely motionless, not moving even the aching hand she was massaging just a second ago. She knows exactly who that unmistakable voice belongs to but she can’t believe her own ears. She had already heard that same voice in her own head so many times before that she’s afraid she could be just imagining it once again.

"You’re pretty good, already." The familiar voice keeps talking behind her. "I think you deserve some rest."

No, there is no way it’s all in her head. She is really there. _She is really_ _here._ Wheein turns around and sets her eyes on _her_.

“So you’re an athlete now, Jung Wheein? An archer, nonetheless? You really are full of surprises.”

Hyejin is sitting in the lowest set of seats of the bleachers, just a few meters away from Wheein's lane. She has a light posture, legs crossed and her elbows propped up on the back seats, looking casual and carefree. She’s wearing a red sundress that looks like it was made especially for her and she also has a beautiful flower - a white one - in her hair which unlike the last time they had seen each other, is also red. She looks stunning and Wheein suddenly feels underdressed in her white training uniform. Wheein tries to hide the surprised expression on her face but she knows it’s too late for that. She bites her lips as she looks for the right words but she can't think of anything good enough. It’s almost like she hadn’t imagined this reunion a thousand times before, but, if she’s being honest, none of the scenarios she created in her head were so random like this one. 

"Apparently I have a natural talent for shooting." She finally says and bends down to pick up the bow she had dropped on the floor.

"Should I be concerned?" Hyejin asks, raising an eyebrow. Wheein can see that she’s holding back a smile.

"Only if you say that you're a better shooter than me again." Wheein remembers the past event and can't help but smile smugly.

“Oh, no, I wouldn't dare. Especially now.” Hyejin nods towards the four arrows on the target, the last ones Wheein had hit before the pain got in the way.

"Don’t worry." Wheein takes a peek at the target behind her and looks back at Hyejin. "I'm sure you can disappear before I can even aim."

"Ouch." Hyejin shrinks and Wheein feels a little bad because of her harsh tone, but the words had left her mouth before she could even think. "Okay, I deserve this one."

“What are you doing here, Hyejin? I mean, If that's even your real name, I never got a chance to ask.” Wheein puts an impassive expression on her face and crosses her arms, still holding the bow.

"It is. Ahn Hyejin." She answers promptly.

"Whatever." Wheein slowly walks towards the stands, arms still crossed like she wants to protect herself. "So, why are you here?"

"I came to see you." She says it as if it's obvious.

"You’re… what? How did you know that I would be here?” Wheein raises her eyebrows but doesn’t dare to walk faster. She feels like if she makes any sudden move Hyejin will disappear again.

“Do you mean in Mexico at all or just… here, now?”

"Both."

"Right." Wheein reaches the nearest part of the bleachers and looks carefully at Hyejin, who had already got up and is now leaning on the protection bar between the bleachers and the arena's courts to get a better view of the woman below. “Just imagine this: I was living my best life in Colombia a few weeks ago, right? Then… Wait, have you ever traveled through Latin America? It's amazing here, I’ve been here for almost eight now! In Argentina they have a-.” Hyejin starts to ramble but Wheein cuts her off. 

"Focus, Latina." She would love to hear Hyejin talk about everything Argentina has later, but right now she’s way too anxious for that.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. So, I was reading the newspaper one morning while I was in Colombia when I saw your name on the list of the South Korean delegation, between the athletes who would attend the Mexico Olympics. Can you imagine how surprised I was? At first I thought it was a coincidence, I mean, you have a pretty common name, right?” Hyejin laughs at her own words. “But then I saw your beautiful face on the team photo printed there, so I decided to come and say hi.”

"Hi? Did you really come all the way to Mexico to say hi?” Wheein can’t believe what she hears.

"And good luck, perhaps? Korea is also my country, after all.” Hyejin offers a shy smile.

Wheein doesn’t believe this is actually happening right now. She’s happy to see Hyejin again even though she didn’t buy this whole ‘hi’ bullshit, but instead of insisting on it she decides to let it go for now.

"And how did you know that I would be here right now?"

"Oh... so, that’s the funny part." She answers, visibly embarrassed. “I watched you match today. You were amazing, by the way.”

"Thanks, but it was like ten hours ago.”

"Yeah. And I saw you leaving with your friends after that. I wanted to talk to you but... I kind of frooze. I just, yeah, I-“ She shutters, flushed. “I wanted to get you alone. To talk. Talk to you alone. So I went to the Olympic village and waited for you.” Hyejin avoids Wheein’s eyes and gets more flushed as she speaks.

"The whole day???" Wheein interrupts but Hyejin keeps talking, ignoring the tone of surprise in her voice.

“I have a friend who’s staying in one of the accommodations so I spent some time there. It’s one of the first buildings so it was very convenient, actually. We were talking on his balcony when you arrived and I saw you entering your room. I had just gathered the courag-, I mean, just decided to go knock on your door when I saw you leaving again, fully equipped.” She blurts out all of this in one breath as if she just wanted to get it over with. 

"You should have called for me. I would never have imagined..."

“You looked so focused, I didn't want to disturb you. But I think you're done now, aren't you?”

"Have you been watching?" Wheein suddenly feels shy.

“The whole thing. And once again I have to say that you’re really amazing, Wheein.”

“You... I mean, all day? You’re... This is...” Wheein tried to ignore but it was too much, she’s left speechless for a moment. She uncrosses her arms and relaxes the defensive posture she had put on before. Hyejin really had gone completely out of her way to make this happen and Wheein doesn't know if she’s more surprised by the country change or the stake out at her door.

"Creepy? Yes, I agree.” Hyejin jokes and starts to walk towards the stairway. Wheein stiffens at the idea that Hyejin could just go up the stairs, reach the doors and leave her again. “Please, don't think that I'm a crazy stalker or something like that. I just…did what I had to do.”

"And why is that?" She asks, raising her voice in an attempt to make Hyejin stop but she just keeps walking. When Hyejin finally reaches the stairs, Wheein’s so nervous that she involuntarily tightens the grip on the bow she’s still holding.

Wheein watches Hyejin turn to the right and starts to go down the stairs, towards the arena’s courts, just where she is. Wheein lets out a breath she didn't know she’s holding.

"I already said, I had to see you.” Hyejin says simply as she keeps walking towards Wheein. 

“I don't buy this. Is it another mission?” It just doesn’t make sense for Wheein. Why would she go so out of her way just to see Wheein if she’s the one who left her behind on their last two times they’d seen each other? Besides, both of their previous encounters had happened by coincidence - and because of Hyejin’s job, nonetheless - and now Hyejin just comes looking for her? 

"What? No, I don't work for the Alliance anymore. Or for anyone like that, for that matter, I'm done with this line of work. It ended for me probably at the same time it ended for you as well: at the end of the war.” Hyejin defends herself and reaches the bottom of the stairs, crossing the passage that separated them.

"Hum." That’s all Wheein manages to say as she looks suspiciously at Hyejin. It bothers Wheein that she’s wanted this to happen for so long and now that it did she doesn’t know how to react. She’s now facing the other woman but there’s still a certain distance between them. Hyejin's expression suddenly changes from her usual confident aura to a kind of hurt look.

"I can… I can leave if you want me to." 

"No!" Wheein’s taken aback and answers quickly. "It just... It doesn't make sense."

"I can explain." Hyejin takes a step closer standing just a few inches from the shorter woman. For the first time since God knows when Wheein’s senses are once again flooded by the overwhelming smell of vanilla and red roses, Hyejin’s signature scent. _God, how she’s missed it._ Wheein admits it only to herself. “Over a meal. I can take you out for lunch tomorrow, if you want.”

Wheein hesitates before answering but then declines steadily. "I have training tomorrow." She wouldn't let anyone get in the way to her goal. Not even the most stunning woman she has ever laid eyes on. “The whole afternoon. And it will probably end late."

"Can we have dinner, then?" She asks with an atypical shy smile on her face. This is a side of Hyejin that Wheein is not used to but she already likes it a lot. Feeling hesitation in Wheein’s momentary silence, Hyejin adds, rambling again: “Nothing too fancy, just so I can explain why I had to leave and maybe to catch up in each other's lives. But if you prefer, we can also wait until all of your games are over, I don't mind waiti-.” But she’s interrupted before she can finish.

"Is there a problem here?" A voice echoes loudly across the empty arena, coming from one of the entrances behind Hyejin, who turns around to see whom it belongs to. Wheein sees Soojin standing alone, wearing her red uniform with the quiver in her belt, bow in hands and an impassive expression on her face. Like Wheein, she must have wanted to train alone before the group training sessions tomorrow - yeah, Wheein really learned from the best. Noticing how close she’s to Hyejin and seeing how it might give the wrong idea, Wheein takes a step back without the other woman noticing.

"No." Wheein answers quickly at the same time Hyejin asks "Why would there be?" They share a look. Hyejin is confused and Wheein is a little nervous. 

"Are you allowed to be here?" Soojin questions as she walks towards the two of them, looking at Hyejin from top to bottom and then pointing at her own credential, which gives full access to the athletes. Wheein is also wearing hers and Hyejin does not have one on, of course. 

“Oh, that? I don’t need it." Hyejin responds naturally.

"And why not?" Soojin ask impatiently. Wheein’s kind of interested to see what excuse she’s going to make but she doesn’t think Soojin would appreciate it as much as her, so she decides to interfere before the conversation turns into a pointless discussion.

"Because she’s leaving." The three of them are close to each other now. 

"Oh." Hyejin is taken aback. A presumptuous smile takes over Soojin's face and the disappointment is clear on Hyejin's eyes. "Yeah, okay, I’m leaving." She accepts her defeat and turns to say a proper goodbye to Wheein.

"So, I see you tomorrow? Does 7 p.m. work for you? I think training will be over by then." Wheein asks and Hyejin is taken by surprise. She really thought Wheein was just dismissing her and she couldn’t even blame her if she did.

"As I was trying to say before, I don't mind waiting for you." Hyejin assures. “I’ll meet you here, okay? Tomorrow at seven.” Hyejin gives Wheein a kiss on the cheek before turning to Soojin with a smug smile on her face. “Nice to meet you too, by the way.” Then she turns around and leaves the arena by the same path Soojin had come in. Wheein watches everything as if she’s out of her own body and doesn't say another word while they watch Hyejin disappear into the lowlights of the exit.

"So you’re dating during the competitions now?" Soojin breaks the silence once Hyejin is out of sight.

"What? No! Why would you say that?” Wheein protests but she can still feel her cheek tingling.

"You had a silly smile on your face when she was leaving." Soojin accuses.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Sure."

"I mean it."

"I don't care, Wheein, I just thought I’d taught you better than that." Soojin says as she walks straight to the last lane and prepares her equipment to shoot some arrows.

Although the breakup was mutual, Wheein knows that Soojin had really fallen in love with her back then and she deeply regrets that she wasn’t able to reciprocate those feelings. Wheein is very grateful for everything Soojin’s taught her and the two of them managed to maintain a cordial relationship over the last couple of years, almost a friendship, if she dares to say. Despite being rivals on the lanes, Soojin always made it clear that she’s really proud of Wheein and both of them support each other's professional lives. Every time they met during championships or tournaments they’d go out for dinner so they could talk and catch up on each other's lives.

Until one particular time when everything changed. After Wheein didn’t qualify for Tokyo in 64, Soojin made sure to personally comfort her. On that occasion, Soojin told her that she couldn’t give up, even offered help with more training herself. But in the middle of all of that mess Wheein woke up once again by Soojin's side on a hotel bed. After that, it became kind of a bad habit for them, always getting involved in ‘one-night stands’ every time they find themselves in the same city. They even made a deal that included two rules: the first is that this would be all they’d ever have, meaning no more feelings involved; and second is that they would never do it while competing with each other, so, in a situation like this, where they could be facing one another at any time, they’d call it all off - at least until the end of the games. 

Wheein takes a deep breath and follows Soojin. “I haven't seen her in a long time. Years, actually. We're just going to catch up. I’m 100% focused on the games.”

“I meant it when I said I don't care. If you're not focused it's better for me, anyway. It will be easier to beat you.” She says as she shoots an arrow that hits the 8 points mark.

"With that aim?" Wheein mocks and Soojin glances hard at her. "I’m just messing with you." Soojin ignores, takes another arrow and hits an 8 again. "You need to relax." Wheein says and leans against one of the beams that divided the lanes.

"Are you done? With your training, I mean.” It's Soojin's way of telling Wheein to get out of there.

"Ah, yes, I am." Wheein answers but doesn't move. She’s enjoying jealous Soojin too much to get out of there, but suddenly she feels bad about the whole situation. Hyejin is probably the biggest reason why Wheein and Soojin didn't work, but neither of the other two women know this. "Yeah, sure, I’ll leave you to it." Wheein goes back to the lane she was training on to get her things. Only then she realizes that her timer is still there, beeping every twenty seconds as she had set it to almost two hours ago. All the recent events of the night made her forget that it was still on and she hasn't even heard it’s sound since Hyejin interrupted her early, but now it’s there and it’s loud.

"Would you mind leaving it?” Soojin asks. “I forgot mine.”

"No, of course." Wheein says and heads towards the exit taking one last look at Soojin, who seems pretty focused but just hits another arrow at the 8 mark. "Good luck." She shouts and leaves towards her accommodation at the Olympic village.

When Wheein finally got to bed she couldn't manage to calm her mind enough to fall asleep fast, but she already knew she would have a lot of difficult nights since she qualified for the games. She barely slept the night before because the anxiety about the start of the competitions was too much, but now the reasons for her insomnia seems to have doubled. Maybe tripled. She doesn't know how she feels about it.

As she watched Hyejin leave earlier, Wheein wanted to stop her. Maybe shout and tell her that she would be waiting there, as they agreed, just to make sure Hyejin would show up, but she chose not to. It would sound too hopeless, even desperate. Now, thinking about the whole situation, she has the slight but inconvenient feeling that the former singer may not show up. She didn’t come back any of the other times she left, but she also never promised she would return as she did today, right? Today? Yesterday, actually. It’s over two in the morning and Wheein doesn't see herself falling asleep anytime soon.

Wheein wants to take a cab and go straight to the hotel where Moonbyul and Yongsun are staying to tell them everything that has happened in the past few hours. She knows they would like to hear all about it and she’s sure that one of them would know exactly what to say to calm her down. They would say at least something that would ease the mess that’s going on inside her head now, they always do.

Once again, she feels like the idea that Hyejin went through all of this trouble just to see her doesn’t sit right. Does Wheein really think she is not worth it? She can’t tell. And honestly, Wheein knows that she has feelings for Hyejin but she doesn't know the exact nature of these feelings yet. She’s definitely attracted to her, sure, but it’s not just physically, she feels like something bigger than her has been pushing her towards the other woman since they’ve met. Wheein likes Hyejin's attention and her presence when they’re together but she hates it when she disappears without explanation. Hates the emptiness that longs in her heart once she’s gone. They’ve spent a lot more time apart than together, but, so far, the time they've had together was worth the double than the time they’ve been apart. But what if she’s the only one who feels that way?

She honestly can't decide if she would rather have Hyejin in her life from time to time or if it would be better not to have her at all. The emptiness that remains when she leaves is too much to handle, but the feeling she gets when she’s around is too addictive to give it up.

 _Maybe Hyejin won't show up today,_ she wonders again. Maybe she will put an end to all of Wheein's worries once and for all. Or maybe she’ll come with a good explanation for everything she’s done. _‘I don’t do immortals.’_ Hyejin’s voice echoes in her head. What the fuck does that mean, anyway? And hell, another thing to think about: does Wheein really want anything to do with her if doesn't even know what her feelings really are? What if she's thinking too much about something that doesn't even exist?

The worst thing is that she knows that she shouldn't be occupying her thoughts with that. Wheein has a championship to think about: the goddamn Olympics, for fuck's sake. The timing certainly couldn't be worse. However, in the end, she knows that she can’t blame anyone but herself. Hyejin came to talk to her, that's all, she even offered to wait for the games to end so they could talk properly, Wheein is the one who ignored it. Wheein is the one who’s making countless assumptions and creating suppositions in her own head. She should focus on her goal, she only has one chance to make that dream come true.

Wheein doesn't know exactly when she fell asleep, but when she wakes up almost at 11 a.m. the next day she thanks the previous day's exhaustion for forcing her to rest. After taking a shower, putting on a fresh uniform and having a light meal, she heads back for the arena for her training session. Since there are no competitions today it looks almost empty compared to the same time the day before. At 1 p.m. sharp Wheein is in her lane shooting arrows with the rest of the South Korea team. There’s a lot of other teams training there and Wheein spotted Soojin in the same lane she was the night before, with the bow in her hands as if she had never left. It’s a little intimidating.

The training lasted all afternoon but Wheein didn’t even feel the time go by. People were coming in and out of the arena constantly, the volume of the conversations around them increased and decreased all the time but the timer beeping was the only sound she could focus on. When her coach announces the end of training and sends all athletes to the locker room Wheein is surprised at how fast time has passed. She puts her equipment away and hurries to get ready for her date... appointment, or whatever it is, with Hyejin. On her way towards the exit, she spots the other woman in the bleachers at the same place she was the night before. She really came back. 

Even from a distance, Wheein can see that Hyejin’s wearing a white long-sleeved blouse that left her shoulders exposed and she has another flower - a red one this time - in her hair. Wheein can’t help but think that the eight years she spent around really did her good. Compared to the rest of the people she came to know since she arrived, the former singer seems almost as if she belongs here.

Hyejin waves at her and she waves back. Wheein notices that she has a smile on her face and is unable to take her eyes off Hyejin for a few seconds. _‘You had a silly smile on your face,’_ she remembers Soojin's words and changes her expression immediately, looking around to see if anyone saw her. After making sure that no one is around - especially Soojin - she heads towards the stands.

"You’re here early."

"I was just in time, actually." Hyejin gets up and leans over the protection bars to get a better view of Wheein who is just below.

"Is it 7 already?"

"7:30."

“Really? Sorry to keep you waiting, I didn't see you there.”

"I don’t mind, I like to watch you training." Wheein feels her cheeks heating up but she just stares at Hyejin once again, unable to take her eyes off her and wondering if Hyejin has really managed to get prettier since the last time they saw each other or if she’s just imagining it. If Hyejin notices or is bothered by it she doesn't say, but anyone watching them could tell that Hyejin is looking at Wheein the same way. A loud cry of frustration broke the silence and distracted them from the bubble that had been created. Some teams are still training in the background and someone is probably not happy with the result they’ve got. When Wheein looks back up Hyejin is already on her way to the stairs to meet her.

"Watching you is definitely better than watching whatever that is.” Hyejin nods towards the other athletes behind her. "Shall we?"

“Oh, I have to go back to my room to change. You don't want to walk around with me in that outfit, do you?” She points at her own clothes. 

"Why not? I think that uniform looks great on you.” Wheein blushes and looks away.

"I need a shower and fresh clothes. It won't be long, I promise." 

“If you insist. I'll wait for you here, okay?”

“Yeah, right. Be right back.” She says as she heads towards the exit. Wheein leaves as fast as she can and on her way to her room she finally remembers that she had agreed to meet Moonbyul and Yongsun at the hotel that they’re staying at so they could explore the city together. She curses herself for not remembering it sooner and for a second she considers canceling her plans with Hyejin so she doesn't stand them up, but she’s sure that as long as she explains the whole situation on the next day, they won't mind.

Hyejin, on the other hand, watches Wheein leave through the same exit she had left the night before and decides to wait for her at the hall, since she was feeling uncomfortable under the looks of people who apparently know she shouldn't be there. Both times she’s been here she’s charmed her way in, after all, who needs credentials when they have a face like hers? As she waits, Hyejin leans against the wall. The place is a little darker and slightly colder than the rest of the venue and she shivers as a wave cold goes through her body. She takes a deep breath and takes time to think about all the events that had gotten her here.

Hyejin is proud to say that she’s never lied to Wheein. Wheein was never just a mission, as she once supposed due to the circumstances of their first meeting. It was all a big mess, but it’s also the best mess Hyejin has ever had in life so far, and she still doesn't know how to explain what Wheein has that affects her like that. She literally put her job at risk the first time she met her and hasn't been able to take her out of her mind ever since. Despite finding out that Wheein’s also an immortal at that night in Chicago, Hyejin honestly thought she would never see her again. It’s a huge world, after all, the probabilities were minimal. But deep down, maybe not as deep as she likes to think, she wished they could met again, at least once. Hyejin just wanted to see her again, they didn't even need to talk. She felt so foolish about it that she scolded herself every time these thoughts found its way to the surface. Whenever she would find herself thinking about it she asked herself why she wanted to meet Wheein again so bad? Why’d she seek her presence if she wouldn-, if she couldn't get involved with the other woman? She doesn’t do immortals, she keeps her distance, that’s the rule. Joohyun would be so disappointed if she knew what’s been going on inside her head. She’s seen it going wrong too many times to let it happen to herself. To let happen to Wheein. 

But when they finally met again, after the shock of Wheein emerging out of nowhere to save her life - or at least her freedom -, releasing Hyejin and Joohyun out of Colditz, Hyejin was very grateful to have her wish fulfilled. Not the whole escaping from jail part, of course, that was very small compared to the joy that was getting to see Wheein again. This time, however, unlike their first encounter, Hyejin couldn't put her mission at risk to spend more time with Wheein. Her role was too big for her to just walk away: she was going to help put an end to the war. Wheein would’ve done the same, she knew it. _First end the war and then get the girl,_ she thought. _Get the girl?_ This involuntary thought left her destabilized, what part of no immortals was she forgetting, for fuck’s sake? Despite this, Hyejin left her with the certainty that fate would put Wheein in her path again, just like the first two times. 

But she didn't want to wait for fate, tho, so she tried to take the matter into her own hands. Hyejin looked for Wheein for a long time during the months that followed the end of war. Again, it bothered Hyejin that she couldn't explain what was it about Wheein that attracted her so deeply but a voice inside her head kept telling her to find out. When the war came to an end Hyejin also decided to leave her current job and all the stress that came with it. She had been happy during her almost thirty years of service but Hyejin felt exhausted and ready for the next phase of her life. But before leaving she asked to see Williams - her former handler - and asked if he had any information about Wheein’s whereabouts. She asked about all the three Colditz women, of course, because Williams didn't need to know who she was hanging on to, but he wasn't very helpful.

"I couldn't tell even if I wanted to, they don’t work for us anymore.” He took a long sip of his drink. “As far as I know they’re always together and they never stay at the same place for too long." He said suspiciously, suspecting Hyejin's intentions. She used the pretext of wanting to thank them personally for Colditz. “They used to travel a lot before they joined us, maybe they’ve gone back to their old habits. Wanderers...” He completed with judgment in his voice.

At that time, the two of them were in a busy pub in London, The Holborn, where several soldiers celebrated the end of the war day after day. On a panel at the back of the bar, Hyejin noted, there was a big board with several pictures taken at that same bar, the words ‘only our best’ were at the top of the frame. The photos were obviously composed of soldiers who used to frequent the place. Most of them looked very old, shabby, smashed and half ripped - probably from the First Great War - but there were some newer ones, newly placed photographs between them. Watching them closely, one photo placed in the right corner caught Hyejin’s attention. It was much newer than the others and it stood out immediately: three familiar faces smiled at her. She was unable to contain her own smile when she set her eyes on the scene in which the photograph had been taken: a playful Moonbyul clearly poking an annoyed Yongsun. Behind them is a very smiley Wheein, hugging the two of them tightly like the fight in front of her wasn't even happening. Hyejin thought it was too much of a coincidence to leave the photo there, so she pocketed it and left the bar with renewed hope.

Not a long time later, Hyejin decided to travel the world along with her old friend, Bae Joohyun, who also didn't see a point in staying at their last job after losing the person she loved the most in the line of duty. The both of them were open and ready to a new chapter of their lives. They had friends to visit and places they’ve always wanted to go. It wasn't like Hyejin was following Wheein, she didn't even know where the other woman might be, but she would be lying if she said she didn't like the idea that maybe she would meet Wheein by coincidence at a hotel in Venice or during a winter camp in Canada. Either way, she was doing it for herself, not for anyone else. If she took the photo of the girls with her and asked if they had been wherever she was recently, it was just to cleanse her conscience. At least that's what she told herself. 

She never got any luck with that photograph, tho. Now, it’s already as old and smashed as most of the photos that were once at the board she had taken it from, but she made a point of keeping it for all of these years, never managing to bring herself to get rid of it.

Then, when Hyejin saw Wheein's name on the South Korea delegation list while she was reading the newspaper on a beautiful Colombian Sunday morning just over a month ago, she literally spit her tea. That was it, it was her new chance to meet her again, she was going to go after Wheein this time. The prospect of Athlete Wheein was something that haunted Hyejin's dreams for the days in row. Such days, in her opinion, couldn’t have passed more slowly. It was as if she had lived fifty years in just one month, but when Hyejin saw Wheein for the first time after all of these years during the initial phase of the competition the whole wait was more than worth it.

Hyejin was sitting in one of the most distant parts of the bleachers to avoid the risk of being seen by the athlete. Wheein gracefully entered the platform towards her lane and wielded the bow with such confidence that Hyejin was sure that missing wasn't an option. She was completely infatuated by this Wheein, even Joohyun teased her about it. She had no doubt that she had done the right thing by coming here, even if she wasn't sure what her intentions were yet. Even though she also wasn't sure if Wheein would be open to talk to her again. After all, she did indeed leave her for two times without any explanation, but she had no intention of doing it again.

Now, standing in the dark hallway, waiting for Wheein to return, she’s grateful for the way things have taken place she arrived here. She still doesn’t know exactly what she’ll tell Wheein but she’s really excited to finally be able to spend more time with her. No mission, no war, no pressure. Just the two of them. Even so, she can't help feeling a little nervous. She hears footsteps in the distance but doesn't bother to look since they’re coming from the opposite direction Wheein has gone.

"You shouldn’t be here." A voice she is sure she has heard before breaks the once comfortable silence in the hall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "But have you ever fallen in love with someone?" Wheein finally looks up at Hyejin.  
> "Have you?" A deafening silence takes over for a few seconds after Wheein's question. None of them breaks the gaze.  
> "Yes," She says as she looks into Wheein’s eyes as if the smaller girl had hung the moon in the sky herself. “I think I have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to call this chapter the calm before the storm.

**PART III - (2/3)**

**Mexico City, CDMX, MEX (1968)**

"I'm just waiting for Wheein." Hyejin doesn't think she owes her an explanation but she says it anyway.

"And why is that?"

"Why…? Do we have a problem here?” The stranger's inquisitive tone bothered her.

"I don't know, you tell me, why do you keep bothering Wheein?"

“What the fuck? Okay, who are you?” Hyejin pulls away from the wall and stands to face the other woman.

"I'm her friend and what about you?" She answers, raising her voice and straightening her body so she can look taller than she actually is.

"I’m..." Hyejin stops abruptly because she doesn't know what to answer. Is she a friend? Is she more than that? Or not even that? And how is this any of this woman business? "I believe it doesn't concern you."

"It does, actually, more than you think." Wheein's friend steps forward and Hyejin can see in her face that she’s angry. “Wheein worked very hard to be here. Unlike many people think, this sport requires more concentration than the aim itself. If I were you, I would leave her alone because if I find out that you have been distracting her I-.”

"I believe that the only person who has been diverting attention here is you since you’re not minding your own business." Hyejin interrupts her by taking a step forward so that the two of them are now only inches apart. “I don't know who you are, Wheein’s friend, but I can see that you are not a big fan of mine, and that's okay because the feeling is mutual now. But if you really are a friend of Wheein, as you say, you better start to get used to my face because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.” Hyejin doesn't know where it all came from but she doesn’t like the way this person talks about Wheein as if she owns her. It arouses a kind of feeling that she’s not used to and doesn't like it at all. There’s an almost palpable tension in the air and neither of them speak for a few seconds until a distant voice coming from the arena’s court calls out. 

“Come on, Soojin, it's your turn again. What’s taking so long?”

"Coming!" Soojin responds immediately without taking her eyes off her. She looks sternly at Hyejin one last time before turning around and leaving to the same direction which she had come from. 

Hyejin silently watches her disappear back into the arena and leans back again against the wall. She wonders who this Soojin girl thinks she is to demand that she leaves Wheein like that. What kind of friend would have the right to command something like that from someone she doesn’t even know? A thought occurs to Hyejin but it bothers her so much that she refuses to accept it.

Wheein comes back a couple of minutes later wearing light denim shorts and a white semi-social shirt tied at the ends, instead of fully buttoned. She still has her hair up in a ponytail and the way it leaves her neck exposed makes Hyejin's mouth go dry. She even forgets how mad she was just a few minutes ago as she takes her time looking at the woman in front of her. 

"You look great." She says looking back into the other woman's eyes.

"Right? I said it’s better than the uniform.” She smiles smugly.

"I didn't say it’s better, but..." Hyejin teases. 

"It's too hot." Wheein argues against the uniform that she actually likes a lot, but not when it’s this hot and definitely not for an occasion like this.

"Yeah, it definitely is." Hyejin says as her gaze falls on Wheein's legs, clearly not referring to weather at all.

"Where are we going?" Wheein starts to walk towards the lobby so Hyejin doesn't see the way her cheeks heat up at the comment.

"Oh..." It's Hyejin's turn to blush. She hadn't thought about that part. All that has been on her mind is the fact that she’s actually going out with Wheein, she didn't give a second's thought to the details like where they’d go or how, but she tries to disguise it without much success. "It's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Wheein stops walking in the middle of the lobby with a doubtful look and Hyejin almost bumps into her.

"Don't you like surprises?" She tries to keep a straight face.

"I kind of do, but..." Wheein takes a challenging step closer, feeling confidence all of a sudden. "I bet you have no idea where to go."

Hyejin discovers that it’s way more difficult to think - or even breathe - with this confident Wheein so close, so she can’t lie. "I’m sorry." She breaks and clears her throat to steady her voice, laughing at herself for how weak her voice sounded. “I literally arrived two days ago, I didn't get a chance to know the city yet. I honestly feel kind of stupid now, I haven't really thought about the logistics of our date. All I could think about was the company, actually.”

"So it’s a date?" Wheein tests.

"Or whatever it is." Hyejin corrects and Wheein bites her lips to suppress a smile when she sees Hyejin's cheeks flushing harder. Wheein turns around and walks towards the exit door, leaving a very confused Hyejin behind.

"I know a place." Wheein explains as she crosses the gate and gets to the sidewalk. When Hyejin catches up with her, she’s already signaling for a cab to stop.

"You’re a lifesaver."

"But you already knew that." Wheein winks at Hyejin as she opens the cab’s door for her.

It's a short trip to the restaurant. Wheein said the name of the place to the old man with thick white mustaches who was driving the vehicle and he easily recognized the place. The driver was friendly but also what you could call a talker: he started to talk to the girls in scratchy English until Hyejin explained that she could speak Spanish. Given the cue, he didn’t stop speaking for a minute, bragging about all the wonders of the city (his loved hometown, as he said himself) that he was so proud to be hosting the games this year. Wheein tried to keep up with the conversation in Spanish but she’s definitely not fluent like Hyejin. Eventually, she would look at her with despair, seeking for help, and Hyejin would easily translate her doubts. Once they got there - the same restaurant that Wheein had visited with Moonbyul and Yongsun the night before - they chose a table on one of the balconies, with a beautiful view to the rest of the city. Wheein ordered her usual - a large portion of tacos - but Hyejin asked for a variety of different things: nachos, burritos, chilli, garapiñados and other desserts Wheein had never heard of. 

"This is my first chance to taste actual Mexican food, I won’t waste it." She defends herself when she sees the look of disbelief on Wheein's face.

"Are you telling me you've been in Latin America for eight years and haven't tried the real Mexican food?" Wheein raises an eyebrow, remembering what Hyejin had said last night.

"One year in each country, I hadn’t been here before, not yet." She explains. 

"Where have you been so far?" Wheein asks interestedly, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands, looking absolutely adorable in the process.

"So far? Well, Argentina, of course, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and, currently, Colombia. I'm making my way up.”

“Cool, I've been to some of them too, but it's been quite a time and never for so long, like you. I’d like to visit them again anytime.” Wheein wonders for a second.

"You’re welcome to join me in Colombia when you finish it up here. I’m there for… well, at least another 3 months." Hyejin winces as she counts the time. "Wow, how time flies."

"Depends on the point of view." Wheein mutters under her breath, remembering all the years that have passed since they last saw each other.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Anyways, why are you here? You said you were going to explain.” She cut straight to the point.

"Well, I told you that you would see me again soon." Hyejin says as if it’s obvious, referring to their parting in Colditz.

"When you said soon I thought it would be, I don't know, an hour, maybe two? Not in twenty four years." Wheein answers bitterly. She straightens up and plays nervously with her own hands over the table.

"Awn, so you’ve been counting?" Hyejin says, mimicking Wheein's previous position and flicking her eyelashes in interest.

"What? No, I just-.” Wheein stutters embarrassed but Hyejin interrupts her.

"I have." Hyejin resumes her serious tone and takes Wheein's nervous hands between hers. "I'm sorry it took so long."

A silence settles between them as Wheein watches Hyejin's hands on hers and Hyejin analyzes Wheein's face closely, looking for any sign that would help her know what she’s feeling.

"You are... a very, very difficult person to understand." Wheein looks up into Hyejin's eyes and tries to verbalize what she’s thinking.

"I know." Hyejin simply smiles while she keeps caressing Wheein’s hands. "But you’re also very hard to read."

"I’m really not." She answers, looking down.

"Yes, you are." Wheein pulls her hands back to herself and rests them on her own lap, out of Hyejin's reach. For some reason, hearing this made her mad.

"Are you serious?" She says staring at her. “You’re the one who keeps showing up in my life and vanishing out of nowhere. Twice. Two times is a pattern, Hyejin. Without any warning, you just come in and go out as you please and I’m the one who’s hard to read?” She lets it all out at once, finally managing to externalize what’s been torturing her for so long.

"I know." Hyejin answers simply as if she was waiting for this. 

"That’s all you have to say?" Wheein’s angry and disappointed. 

“No, of course no, but it’s not that simple.” She avoids Wheein’s eyes. 

"I didn’t say it’s simple, Hyejin, I know it’s not. But you said you would explain."

"And I will, I just…." Hyejin pauses for a moment to choose her words carefully but the waiter arrives just in time with their food. "Let's just eat first."

Wheein takes a deep breath, feeling uncomfortable with the situation as she watches the waiter put their food on the table and repeats Hyejin's ‘gracias’ when he finishes.

Hyejin wants to explain everything but she doesn’t know how to start. When they met for the second time she already had the feeling that Wheein didn’t know the whole story about themselves but now she’s sure. She’s met others like her, who didn’t know, but she never had to be the one to tell them. Hyejin doesn't want to be the person to tell her the truth but she can't just watch Wheein think that everything she did was out of malice. For lack of consideration or worse, for not caring about her.

They start to eat in silence, both avoiding each other's eyes since the atmosphere is more tense than it has ever been when they’re together. The pressure is so strong that Hyejin feels like she can't breathe, so she finally decides to address the elephant in the room.

“I looked for you.” _Baby steps._ That's how she decides to tell the whole story. _You don't have to tell everything at once. Wheein has a lot on her plate right now, it's not selfish to wait a little longer. You have to think about her._ She says to herself. 

"What do you mean?" Wheein, who wasn’t expecting not only that statement, but nothing at all, puts her taco back on the plate and drinks some water before answering. "After Colditz?"

"Yeah. After the war, actually.” Hyejin is not looking at her, she stares at an untouched nacho as if it is the most interesting thing in the world. “I met Williams and asked about where you could be and he wasn’t very helpful. But...” She takes a photo out of her pocket and puts it on the table. "I found this." She hopes this would be proof enough for Wheein to believe that she’s tried.

"What..." Wheein holds the photo and examines it carefully. She sees herself with her two best friends printed there and remembers the exact night that it was taken. It was the night that she told her friends about Hyejin. "The Holborn? How did you...?"

"Williams took me there for our last conversation. I saw it on the board and couldn't resist, I thought it was too much of a coincidence not to get it."

“He’s the one who introduced that bar to us, too. His office was on the same street.”

"I don’t believe he meant for me to find this photo but still..." 

"I think he didn't even know it was there, I put it on the board myself."

“I asked him about you. All of you, actually. I said I wanted to personally thank you guys for Colditz but he didn't know where you were anymore, he said that you had already left the Alliance. But he did tell me that you were travelers. Nomades or wanderers? Something like that. I guess he didn’t approve." She grimaces remembering Williams’ comment. "Whatever, who cares about him?” Hyejin expects a reaction from Wheein but she doesn’t say a word. “Anyways… I may or may not have shown this photo in every place I’ve been ever since... just… just in case…” Hyejin finally looks up looking for Wheein's eyes, but she keeps her gaze fixed on the photograph in her hands.

"Oh." Wheein’s speechless again. 

“I never got any luck with the photograph but I was very surprised when I saw your name in that newspaper, like I said. It felt like… destiny, you know? I knew I had to come here.” Wheein looks into Hyejin's eyes for the first time in a while. “I'm sorry for leaving. The first time, I mean, I didn't lie to you before. I’ve never lied to you, actually. The story I told you in Leipzig, about the first time we met, is the truth. That’s what really happened, but when we split up in Colditz… well, I knew we wouldn't be seeing each other right after but I really hoped it would be sooner. We would be going to different paths but I had a plan. I would contact you after the Italy mission which, for the record, took much longer than I expected. But it was good, I mean, the war would end just months later, but I didn't know that at the time. So when it did end I looked for you, I just wasn’t counting on Williams' misinformation about your whereabouts. I thought I would have a chance to explain everything sooner, it wasn't supposed to be like that.” She gives Wheein some time to absorb all the information before continuing. The expression on her face is impossible to read. “When I say that you’re a difficult person to read, Wheein, it’s because I can’t explain what it is about you that pulls me towards you like that. Since the first time I saw you I haven't gone a single day without thinking about you least once. Where could you be, what would you be doing, if we would see each other again...” Hyejin is finding it difficult to breathe under Wheein's gaze, so she breaks eye contact in order to finish her reasoning. “So that's why I'm here. Hopefully to find out.”

Wheein feels like a weight has been taken off of her shoulders. She’s grateful that Hyejin was able to put into words what she feels herself, especially after spending so much time thinking that these feelings weren't reciprocal. But at the same time she feels relieved, she also doesn't know what to say. Where do they go from here? Honestly, all she wants to do is to kiss Hyejin senseless but she knows that she can’t just do it right now. The whole ‘don’t do immortals’ thing is still hanging over Wheein's head and she knows that there is more history behind it. What if she lets herself get carried away just for Hyejin to leave her again? She doesn't know the baggage Hyejin holds but she certainly has to find out before it moves any further. 

Hyejin, on the other hand, feels like all the air has been blown out of her lungs. Wheein has every right to claim that she’s lying and move on with her life but Hyejin sincerely hopes that she doesn't. If she doesn't react well to that, how can Hyejin tell her the rest of the story? She won't be able to do that and it’ll turture her not to. She’s seen how Wheein acts around her, so she knows that the other woman has certain feelings for her but she can’t tell which ones. Hyejin doesn’t know how to distinguish her own feelings, how could she tell someone else’s? She just hopes that Wheein will at least tell her what they are instead of having Hyejin guessing, but the silence from the woman who can’t take her eyes off her is not helping.

"Please say something." It comes out as a whisper and Wheein is finally brought back to reality.

"I really don't know what to say." Wheein answers sincerely and Hyejin's heart sinks. But Wheein completes quickly, feeling that she’s been silent for too long. “But I also feel something like that and I really want to find out why. Or what it is, for that matter. Let's just take things slow and talk this through, can we do this?" Hyejin finally breathes again.

“Yeah, of course. I know it's a lot to process, it's the same me, I promise.” Wheein takes the initiative this time and holds Hyejin's hands between hers. Both are well aware that they have more feelings than the ability to understand it at the moment.

"Can I help you with anything else?" The waiter approaches the table, breaking their bubble. For a few minutes they had forgotten that there is a world around them.

"Er... Champagne?" Hyejin tries, asking Wheein with a look.

"I can't, I'll compete tomorrow."

"Ah, right, so no, thanks." Hyejin dismisses the waiter and finally turns her attention to her food. "Okay, now I can enjoy this." She says taking a nacho to her mouth. "Want some?"

The rest of the dinner goes on pleasantly until the end. They reach an unspoken agreement that the other serious things will be discussed on another occasion and the rest of the time is filled with light conversations. For most of the time, Hyejin tells Wheein about her wandering in Latin America, - Wheein finally finds out what it is about Argentina that has got Hyejin so captivated - occasionally interrupted by a moan of appreciation for the food she’s having. Wheein doesn't want to leave but as she sees the hours flying by she surrenders and tells Hyejin that she’s to go, since she has a match on the next day.

"I will be at the bleachers." Hyejin says as they reach the sidewalk. "You’ll be great."

"Don't press me." Wheein signals for a cab and pouts when it stops in front of her. She wished it hadn’t stopped so they could have more time together.

"I’m not pressuring you, I’m saying what I already know.”

"So now you see the future, too?" Hyejin’s smiling as she opens the door for Wheein.

"I’m a woman of many talents." Wheein wishes she could kiss that smug smile out of Hyejin's face but she just shakes her head as she gets in the cab and Hyejin closes the door. "So... tomorrow, after your match… could we do it again?” She asks sheepishly as she leans down on the open window.

“Oh, I’d really like to, but tomorrow I have to see the girls. Moonbyul and Yongsun, I mean. I kind of should have met them today. Hopefully, if they don't kill me when I tell them why I stood them up, we can do something the day after tomorrow, just like today, after my training.”

“Gosh, I didn't know. I'm sorry, we could have rescheduled.”

“It’s fine, really.”

“Let them know that I didn’t know you guys had plans, okay? I don't want to be on their bad side so soon.” Hyejin says quickly, getting a good laugh out of Wheein.

"Don't worry, I’ll gladly take all the blame." 

"So, the day after tomorrow, same time and place?" Hyejin stands up straight looking down at Wheein.

"Yeah." She nods but remembers something that makes her change her mind. “We can meet at my dorm, at 7:30, it's better. It’s the apartament 101, Block B, oh, you already know that.” Wheein laughs again e Hyejin blushes.

"Okay, so it's a date." Hyejin lightly taps twice at the hood of the cab to let the driver know they’re done and the cabby starts to drive away. 

"It's a date." Wheein repeats to herself and the last thing she sees before turning around is Hyejin waving at her from a distance.

When Wheein finally gets to the comfort of her room she feels a lot lighter than when she left earlier that evening. She knows that she’s smiling like an idiot but right now it’s not something she can contain. Just like the night before, it’s the tiredness of the busy day that makes her rest but this time, at least, it wasn't the bad thoughts that occupied her mind until she fell asleep. She had the best night of sleep since she arrived in Mexico - which she didn't think would be possible considering the stress of competition and the fact that she has a match on the next day - but she’s woken up by several loud knocks on her door very early in the morning.

Wheein gets up stumbling, puts her robe on and opens the door ready to curse whoever it is, but the ravenous daylight that came blinding at her face cut her line of thought, even more than the noises of the two figures who entered her room screaming and pushing her out of their way.

"Where were you?"

"We waited for like two hours."

"Then we went to the arena because we thought you were training but you were NOT there."

"Why would you do that?"

"Where the hell did you go?"

A very angry Moonbyul and a rather mad Yongsun are now pacing through the room, yelling too many questions for Wheein's sleepy brain to assimilate.

"Good morning to you too." She says, stretching and lying back on the bed. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to cut the crap and tell us what's going on." Moonbyul lies down on the other side of the double bed and Wheein covers her own face with one of the pillows.

"It's early, we have time." Yongsun warns, sitting on the nearest chair.

"C’mon." Moonbyul starts to poke Wheein's arm incessantly. “Soojin told us she saw you going out with a pretty woman, tell us who she is."

"She said what???" Wheein sits up abruptly.

"Okay, she didn't say pretty but she looked upset so I suppose she must be." Moonbyul clarifies.

“No, not that. Did Soojin really see us leaving? Me and her? Together?” Moonbyul nods. After denying the whole date thing to Soojin, she still saw her with Hyejin again and probably noticed the whole tension between them. She lies back sighing in frustration. "Ugh, I'm going to get so much crap for that."

"Uh, drama." Yongsun pushes Wheein to the middle of the bed and lies down with the other two. "I thought you guys were done."

"We are done.” She emphasizes the ‘are’. “But sometimes she thinks she has the right to an opinion on everything I do.” Wheein complains without thinking and regrets right away. Deep down she knows that Soojin only wants what’s best for her.

"Because you guys are still fucking, right? I said it was a bad idea.” Moonbyul teases and Wheein is about to fight back when Yongsun interrupts.

“Let’s put this topic on hold. Quit the whole stalling thing and tell us what’s going on already! It has to be good for you to stand us up like that, okay? We were very concerned.”

"Yeah.” Moonbyul confirms. “We just didn't go out on the streets screaming your name because we found Soojin first. It wasn't cool, Wheein.”

"I'm so sorry. I left a note at the door in case you guys came looking for me here, but apparently you didn't have to.” She had actually left a note taped outside the door, saying that she had some things to do but without further information. When she came back last night the note was still at the same place, tho.

"Who is the mysterious woman, Robin Hood, c’mon?"

"It's not that mysterious..." Under the anxious gaze of her best friends Wheein finally gives up. "It's Hyejin."

"WHAT?"

"HYEJIN?"

“WHY?”

"YOU’RE JOKING?"

"BUT HOW?"

"Shut up and let me explain!!!" She raises her voice so she can stand out over the girls' questions. Wheein tries to explain everything while she gets ready for competition, doing her best not to leave any details out and promising to answer all the remaining questions after the match, since they agreed to explore the city together again - and this time Wheein would actually show up.

When Wheein reaches the arena again the atmosphere feels different. This time she knows Hyejin will be watching, she promised that she would. Unlike the previous day where there were no competitions happening, today the stands are packed and the noises are pretty loud. Wheein avoids to look at a specific part of the bleachers that she suspects Hyejin would be in - the same place she had been the last two times. A familiar voice coming from loudspeakers echoes over the place announcing her name and Wheein heads for her designated lane where she’ll face an athlete from Croatia in the round of 16. She’s nervous but much more confident than the last time. The knockout stages really are her natural habitat and she demonstrates it by beating the Croatian athlete by 19 points without breaking a sweat and passing through the next phase with glory.

When she leaves the lane towards the locker room she finally catches sight of Hyejin, smiling and waving with a South Korean flag tied around her neck, at her usual place in the bleachers. Wheein smiles back as she walks to the locker room but the smile slightly falls off her face when she recognizes the woman by Hyejin’s side. She knows her as Irene, or Bae Joohyun, actually: Hyejin's friend whom they’d helped rescue in Germany. She doesn't like her very much, if she's being honest, but she waves one last time before disappearing into the tunnel.

After leaving the locker room and finishing watching the rest of the matches, Wheein turns back towards the stands in order to finally talk to Hyejin but she’s no longer there. They're already gone, both of them. With an awkward discomfort in the pit of her stomach she goes looking for Moonbyul and Yongsun so they can spend the rest of the day together as they planned. As Wheein already knew it would happen, she’s bombarded with dozens of questions about Hyejin since she didn't have time to answer them in the morning, but she doesn't care. She wants to talk about her and she’s looking forward to the next day when she’d get to see the woman who makes her heart flutter again.

Happily, it comes faster than she expects. On the next day she had the same routine as always. The training went on smoothly but this time she took the necessary precautions to leave at the right time so she could get ready in her room. Besides, she did her best to avoid Soojin's glances the whole time. Wheein intentionally chose to meet Hyejin at her dorm so she could lessen the chances of Soojin seeing them together again. What she didn't expect is that Soojin would be at her door just when she finished getting ready for her date with Hyejin. Two knocks put a big smile on Wheein's face but it lasted approximately ten seconds until she opened the door and found Soojin on the other side. There was a time where she would be really happy to see Soojin at her bedroom door after an exhausting day of training, if you know what she means, but not today, not now.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too." Soojin forces a smiles. 

"Hi...?" Wheein says, awkward. 

"Can I come in?" Wheein hesitates for a second but moves out of the way for Soojin to come inside. She takes a long look outside before closing the door again, but doesn’t see who she’s looking for. 

"Don't look so disappointed to see me." 

"Ah, sorry, I just wasn't expecting."

"You weren't expecting me but you’re for sure expecting someone, huh?" She says, raising an eyebrow and looking at Wheein from top to bottom. 

“I'm just surprised to see you here. I mean… we have a deal, remember? We can’t-."

“I didn't come here to jump you or anything like that, Wheein. Much less spoil to your date.” The way she says the word ‘date’ screams disapproval. "I just want to give it back to you." Wheein finally notices the timer, her timer, that apparently has been in Soojin's hands all along. “You lent it to me the other day and I didn't get a chance to return. I planned to do it today after training but you ran away before I could.” She hands it over to Wheein who picks it up and places it on the dresser.

“Ah, okay. Thanks, I forgot about it.” Wheein stands beside the bed as Soojin paces in small steps around the room, observing the mess.

"You seem to be forgetting a lot of things lately." Soojin says trying to sound casual but not making any eye contact.

"Here we go..." _Without any ceremony_ , Wheein thinks. She was expecting it but it’s faster than she thought.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you let yourself be distracted?" Soojin touches the sore spot mercilessly.

"I can't believe you’re going to use this against me now." Wheein takes a step back as if the other woman had hurt her physically .

“You know that I'm right. You could have qualified for Tokyo if you had focused, but you insisted on going on that silly trip with your friends and came back totally out of your gane. It pushed you down, Wheein.” Soojin pushes.

"You don't know what you're talking about." They face each other intensely, like a battle of wills.

“And now that you're here! At the place you've dreamed about for so long and you're going to let yourself get carried away by some random girl? Can't you wait at least until the games are over?” She can’t help but to raise her voice.

"She's not just some random girl." Wheein answer before she can stop herself.

"Oh, so you’re already on that level?" She pressures again, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

A side of Wheein feels that Soojin’s only saying these things out of jealousy but deep down she also knows that it’s not just that. Soojin is talking about her own experiences. She really wants what’s best for Wheein, but she doesn't understand that unlike her, the people that Wheein loves... or likes, aren’t distractions. They’re what makes her stronger, dedicated and happy in the process. She just wishes Soojin could see it the same way.

“Soojin, listen. I really like you and I appreciate everything you've done for me, you know that. But you’re going way beyond your line now, so please, please, just drop it.” She chooses her words carefully to not hurt the other woman and it seems to have touched something inside Soojin since her expression changed immediately. It looks like she has just now realized all the things she said. “We already talked about it. Your concerns are not my concerns. We are very different people and we deal with things differently.”

"You're right." Soojin takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't hav-, just forget it. I just... care about you."

“And I care about you too, but that's not how we should do it. Besides, you know I can take care of myself very well.” An intense silence follows the affirmation but it’s soon interrupted by three knocks on the door. Wheein curses her own luck and walks towards the door.

"Hey." When she opens a door she finds Hyejin, as expected, with a big smile on her face and the now signature flower in her hair. The smile, however, fades when she spots Soojin as she looks over Wheein's shoulder.

“Hi.” Wheein answers apprehensively. 

"Am I too early?" Hyejin asks.

"Right in time, I was just leaving.” Soojin replies before Wheein can say anything. She walks over to the door and kisses Wheein on the cheek - something she always does, but right now it looks foreign to Wheein. "Good night." It’s the last thing she says before Hyejin gets out of the way for her to leave. Together they watch Soojin disappear into the night without looking back.

"Did I... er, interrupt something?" Hyejin says in a coldly calculated voice.

"No, no, that’s just Soojin-"

"I know who she is."

"You know? Ah, of course you know, you must have seen her competing yesterday too, she played before me."

"Not exactly. We kind of... talked. When I stayed at the arena and you came here to get ready, two nights ago.” Hyejin is not quite sure if she should say anything about it.

"Oh shit, what did she say?" Wheein feels her head throbbing at the thought.

They agree to go out to eat at a local fair nearby, so they walk over there while Hyejin tells her all about her encounter with Soojin. They walk side by side, hands eventually touching as they go.

"She is a... very dedicated friend." Hyejin says after finishing telling what happened, trying to find an answer to a question she doesn't quite know how to ask.

"We have history." Wheein replies, keeping her gaze fixed at the end of the street. “But we’re kind of friends now. It's complicated but you don’t have to worry, I won't bother you with the details.”

"But you can, if you want." Hyejin responds quickly. "Only if you want. I would like to know, you know... how your life has been.”

Wheein feels her heart flutter at the sign of Hyejin's interest in her life, but this subject is not quite what Wheein expected them to start with. Soojin was the longest relationship Wheein has had since she met Hyejin. She’s always had dates and flings, but nothing had been as serious as Soojin.

“Long story short: we met eight years ago at the Olympics. Yeah, I know, sounds cliché, but we dated for a while and she kind of introduced me to the world of archery. It’s not like I used her or anything, just to be clear. I really liked her and deep down it all seemed like a fate because I really fell in love. With archery, I mean. But my relationship with Soojin didn’t last long. Like I said, we’re still friends, the breakup was mutual. I think sometimes she kind of feels like she's still my coach or something like that, that’s why it's so complicated." She purposely leaves out the fact that they’ve been kind of friends with benefits for the last four years but that’s definitely not something that she would like to disclose right now. 

"Ah, so it makes sense." Hyejin comments after listening carefully.

"What?"

"You’re her pupil." She says, understanding. “It explains all of that talk about me being a distraction and stuff like that. Do I think she’s totally jealous? Yeah, sure. But she’s also concerned about your performance.”

“I agree with the part about her being concerned about my performance but she has nothing to worry about. And neither do you.” She completes after seeing the understanding look on Hyejin’s face. “A big part of why our relationship didn't work is because Soojin doesn't know how to separate things.” Wheein’s sincere, but she also chose to omit the part where she didn't manage to get Hyejin out of her mind even when she was with Soojin. “She thinks everything is a distraction. Even I was one, apparently. She kind of projects her feelings, you know? She even thinks that Yong and Byul are distractions for me, when in fact it’s their support that makes me want to give my best. They’re not a distraction and neither are you.” Hyejin breathes a sigh of relief when she hears it.

"I kind of understand how you can be a distraction." Hyejin jokes, looking suggestively at Wheein and getting a light slap on her arm in response. “But I do understand you. Her feelings are not yours, she needs to understand it, too.” Wheein nods and they keep walking in silence for a few seconds until Hyejin speaks again. "If it counts for something, you can tell her that I promise to do my best not to be a distraction." She keeps the joking tone, raising her little finger as a way to optimize her promise. "We can go back right now so I can pink promise her."

Wheein decides to ignore the teasing and just rolls her eyes instead of responding. When they arrive at the fair they have a proper date with everything they are entitled to: they eat, talk and play some of the games arranged in the middle of the tents. Both enjoying each other's presence and feeling happier than they have been in a long time. By the end of the night, the constant jealousy that had been burning in Hyejin’s chest since she arrived at Wheein's room and saw her with Soojin had almost completely disappeared. Almost

“Ah, I almost forgot to congratulate you on yesterday's match. You were really amazing, just like I said you would be.” Hyejin recalls when they sit on a bench, eating some cotton candy.

"Thanks. It was really nice to see you there.” So Wheein remembers. “You and your friend... Irene... Joohyun? She’s been with you all this time?” She says, staring at the candy in her hand. 

“Joohyun **,** yeah. We’ve been together since way before Germany.”

"So… she’s a good friend?" Wheein avoids Hyejin's eyes and feels embarrassed for this very poor attempt at a question.

"She's a really good friend, that's all." Hyejin responds wearing a knowing smile.

“I ask because she kind of left us behind at Colditz, remember? We took way too long to get to the tower and she didn't even come back so see what happend.” Wheein tries to hide her jealousy but there is also truth in her statement, she didn’t like that at all. “I was kind of upset about it and at the time I didn't know if you guys were close.”

“Joohyun was going through a lot back then, I don't blame her and neither should you. She didn’t do anything wrong, just followed the plan, I can guarantee you that.” Hyejin says sharply with a dark look on her face. 

"I didn't mean to imply anything, I’m sorry." Wheein notices the change and retracts herself. She doesn't know why Hyejin reacted that way but she feels guilty about touching an apparently triggering topic.

“No, no, I’m the one who should apologize, I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. You’d love her if you get a chance to talk. It's just that Joohyun is a delicate subject for me, she's my best friend and we went through a lot together.” Hyejin puts her free hand on Wheein's thigh to assure her. For a moment Wheein remembers when Hyejin did the same thing when they first met at Joseph’s and when they were at their cell in Colditz. They’ve come a long way since. 

"She’s your moonsun." Wheein says, wondering to herself. 

"My what?"

“Moonbyul and Yongsun, that's how I call them. She is to you what they are to me, right? So it's okay, I get it.” Hyejin breaks into a laugh so loud that she accidentally drops her cotton candy and has to put her hands over her mouth to contain herself. Wheein finds it the most adorable thing in the world.

"Yeah." She says when she recovers. "She’s my moonsun." The air feels lighter and Hyejin takes the opportunity to return to a previous topic that’s still bothering her.

"Can...can I ask you something?"

"Anything." She answers carefreely, taking a piece of cotton candy to her mouth. 

“Earlier today when you said you had fallen in love... you made a point of saying it was for archery. Did you mean...” She stutters. “Did you mean that you have never fallen in love with Soojin?” She asks as she looks for Wheein’s eyes, who was too busy wiping her hands with a napkin but stops the movement as soon as these words left the other woman’s mouth. Hyejin’s not sure how she found the courage to ask, but the purpose of the question was much bigger and way beyond her jealousy. 

Wheein, who was not expecting this at all, doesn’t really know how to answer it at first. She knows the right answer for the questions and she’s sure that she won’t lie to Hyejin, but should she say the real reason why that love never happened? Why did her and Soojin never even stand a chance? She chooses not to do it just yet. "No. No, I haven't." 

"But have you ever fallen in love with someone?" Wheein finally looks up at Hyejin.

"Have you?" A deafening silence takes over for a few seconds after Wheein's question. None of them breaks the gaze. 

"Yes," She says as she looks into Wheein’s eyes as if the smaller girl had hung the moon in the sky herself. “I think I have.” 

The next day dawned brighter for Wheein. She hardly felt the pressure of the quarterfinals creeping over her shoulders until the last moment. Her previous night's date ended right where it started: at Wheein's the door, since Hyejin insisted on escorting her back.

“It’s actually a matter of national security, I'm just serving my country here.” Hyejin rambled. “Imagine if something happened to our best chance of getting a gold medal because of me. I would definitely be banned from Korea.” She gave this and many other excuses - one of them being the probability of Soojin conducting a personal womanhunt after her if Wheein came home too late - which Wheein dismissed holding back her laughs, but she didn’t deny the company. She resisted the urge to make it clear that she knew how to take care of herself and didn't complain once, despite all of the jokes.

The kiss they shared on the porch may or may not have been the cause of the sky looking bluer this morning. When Wheein was pressed against the closed door with Hyejin's body glued to hers and hands running all over her, she almost sent the whole ‘take things slow’ speech to hell, but the sudden presence of the village’s guard throwing the flashlight at their faces made the two of them jump, graciously preventing any further progress in that department.

So Hyejin left with a promise to watch Wheein’s match and show up at her door on the next day, after training, just like today. When Wheein finally went back to her room and lay on the bed to assimilate everything that had happened that night, Hyejin's words about falling in love didn’t leave her head. She wondered if she would have a chance to answer it herself, since she dodged the question by throwing it back at Hyejin.

As always, Moonbyul and Yongsun visited her in the morning, before she left for the competition, and bombarded her with questions about Hyejin. This time, tho, Wheein chose to postpone the matter and promised to tell everything when they meet later that day. She knew that this time it would be many more questions and she didn't have time for that now. She needed to get into game mode.

Once she’s inside the arena the air changes, as usual. She feels slightly more pressed than the last time due to the fact that one of her teammates, the one disputed the 50M category, had lost her match and therefore, got disqualified from games just before she stepped on the court. So, the pressure under her and the other female athlete from her team who competed in the 30M category are now doubled. She’s not too close to her but she knows her teammate feels just as pressured as she does.

Wheein will face a USA athlete in the quarterfinals, an archer who she’s already familiar with since they competed against each other in a championship a couple of months ago. But it didn’t calm Wheein down in any way, knowing the quality of her opponent only made her more nervous. On the previous occasion Wheein had won by only 4 points, but to her gratitude this time is quite different. Although it’s a tough game, Wheein beats the other athlete by an 11 points lead and only realizes it when the last horn sounds announcing the end of the last series. Once again she looks for _her_ in the stands as she heads towards the locker room and winks at a very smiling and jumpy Hyejin on her way out.

Later that day, when Wheein and her friends are watching a women's volleyball match between the Soviet Union and Japan, she takes the opportunity to tell them everything that happened the night before.

“So she deadass said that she’s in love with you? Just like that?"

"She didn't say she’s in love with me, she said she’s already been in love..." Wheein strolls, feeling her face heat up.

"Cut the shit, Wheein." Moonbyul punches her in the arm.

“It's pretty ambiguous, okay? It can mean a lot of this.” She defends herself, trying not to raise her expectations with her friends' excitement.

“So it’s really happening, right? Our Wheein is finally getting to be with the girl she likes.”

"I feel like a twelve years old when you say 'girl she likes' like that."

“But you are like a twelve years old.” Moonbyul says at the same time she hears Yongsun corrects herself with: "The woman who you’re in love with, then? Does it sound better?"

"I-." Wheein tries to protest and blushes even harder, not knowing how to respond. "Just shut up, the both of you."

"Awwwn." They make fun of her in unison. "You guys are cute." Yongsun says.

"When are we going to meet her again?"

“Maybe when the competition is over and my schedule gets better we can set something up.”

"Great. I have to give her the shovel talk if you guys are really going to be together.” Moonbyul says with a false tone of authority. This turn of events, however, reminds Wheein of something that’s still bothering her.

“We’re taking things slow. I don't even know if we're actually going to be together or something like that. It's complicated." She tries to hide the sadness in her voice but her friends know her too well for that.

“What's so complicated? It's not like you're getting married, you're just going to be her girlfriend. If it doesn’t work, you can split up. You could even remain friends or whatever… just like you and Soojin.” Yongsun suggests.

Wheein ignores the implication in her tone and goes straight to the point. "She has that whole thing about not dating immortals, did you forget?" 

"And why is that?"

"I don’t know yet."

"Are you really trying to tell us that you were too busy shoving your tongue down her throat all night that you didn't even have time to ask the important questions?" Moonbyul tries to sound serious but it doesn't work.

"It wasn't all night!" She protests. "We talked a lot, okay?"

"But not about the important things."

"Like just said…” Wheein ignores, using a stern tone. "We’re taking things slow."

"But you know you have to ask, don't you?"

"I will… eventually." Wheein says, staring at her own hands. "I just don't want to risk ruining things right now."

"You’re not going to ruin anything, Wheeinie." Yongsun places a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to assure her. "If you can't have a sincere conversation about your feelings with her, it's because she doesn't deserve you at all."

"I know." Wheein knows that she can have any kind of conversation with Hyejin, but right now she kind of doesn’t want to talk about anything too serious. Not after last night. 

“And if she doesn't deserve you I'm going to kick her ass myself. When are you going to set up our meeting, again?” Moonbyul jokes to brighten the mood and Wheein is really grateful for that. She is very grateful for the friends she has and for a moment she wonders if Bae really is as good of a friend as hers Moonsun. She makes a mental note to ask more about her on their next date.

Once again the next day came as fast as she wished. It’s like time is passing faster since Hyejin came back into her life. They agree to make the best use of Wheein's all access card and watch a men's basketball game between the United States and France on that evening. Once they find two good seats and get a snack, they emerge in a fun conversation about which countries are most likely to win each sport. A France supporter, who’s particularly more annoying than the others, is making a lot of noise about five rows in front of them, which makes Hyejin roll her eyes constantly and Wheein laughs at her annoyance.

"I don't know why he even tries, we already know who’s going to win." Hyejin throws a popcorn at the annoying guy and pretends not to know what happened when the grumpy old man looks back.

“Oh, do you? Do you have a crystal ball, now? How many points are they going to score?” Wheein jokes as she gets the popcorn out of her hands to prevent another ‘accident’.

“No, _babe_ , I said I know who’s going to win, regardless of the score. It will be a USA victory, of course.” She answers casually, paying attention to the game and missing the way Wheein shivers at the sound of that word coming out of her mouth.

"I refuse to cheer for the USA, I'm more of an underdog kind of person." She says after getting herself together. 

“I’ve been watching all the Olympic games since London, in 48. And I watched some before the war too. Basketball mostly, so I know what I'm talking about.” Hyejin says smugly.

"Really?" Wheein sounds surprised. "I've been going to every single one since 52. I can't believe we haven't met in one of these before."

"Maybe we were just meant to meet again here." Hyejin says with a wink.

"Or maybe you have seen me around before and just took off to avoid me." Wheein teases.

"Trust me, Wheein." Hyejin lowers her voice and gets closer as if she’s going to tell her a secret. “If I had seen you somewhere in the past few years, I wouldn't have left without getting at least one more kiss. It’s my M.O., you must know it by now.”

"So...” Wheein recognizes the playful tone in her voice and decides to play along. “Are you telling me that you've been going around stealing kisses from random women and disappearing right after like it’s a sport or something like that? Your very own Olympic sport?" 

"Yeah, but just from the pretty ones." Hyejin answers and Wheein bites her own lips to avoid a smile, unsuccessfully, of course.

"You’re ridiculous." She says as she looks foward, pretending to pay attention to the game and ignoring her flushed cheeks.

"But I'm a good kisser, though."

"If only you were as good at reading the game." Wheein changes the subject and nods towards the scoreboard. France is winning by 96/85 and there is only five minutes left. Unfortunately for Wheein, however, the USA turns the game around and wins by 105/103, with a three point buzzer beater and everything to make a show. Wheein thinks the old France supporter who was just in front of them may have had a heart attack.

“What were you saying again? About my analysis skills?”

"I’ll never watch another game with you in my entire life." Wheein rolls her eyes as she goes towards the exit, Hyejin following close behind.

"Or you can join the winning team, I can teach you a thing or two if you want."

Hyejin teases Wheein about it for the rest of the night, from dinner to all the way back to her dorm. Coincidentally, they took the same cab they had taken on the way to the restaurant on their first date, and he seemed to be a big fan of USA basketball as well, much to Wheein's dislike. When they reach the Olympic village, Wheein goes up the porch stairs, puts the key in the lock and opens the door, keeping her hand on the knob.

"Wanna go in?" She asks even though she already knows the answer, judging by the distance that Hyejin is putting between them. She’s standing by the porch stairs with a nervous look on her face.

“I don't think that’s a good idea. See you after your next training?” Hyejin's voice shakes and she keeps her hands behind her back. Wheein finds it very entertaining.

"You know... I'm not going to jump you or something like that, Hyejin.” Wheein releases the door handle and takes slow steps towards Hyejin, who doesn’t move.

"The problem is that I really want you to do that." She admits as Wheein stops in front of her, slightly higher due to height difference between the porch stare and the floor where Hyejin is. "But we, hum, we still have a lot to talk about, er, taking things slowly, right?" She asks without any assurance in her voice.

"Yeah, sure." Wheein answers without paying any attention as she puts her hands on each side of Hyejin’s face and leaves a long awaited kiss on her lips. Hyejin feels her knees weak and releases her hands from her back to rest them on Wheein's waist, so as to give herself balance. Wheein deepens the kiss for a minute before taking a step back, breaking all contact and leaving a very flushed and momentarily confused Hyejin behind.

"See you soon." Wheein says with a wink before entering her room and closing the door behind her. She feels a little dizzy and leans her back against the door for a few seconds to recompose herself. After a while, Wheein goes to the window and slightly pushes the curtain to take a look outside. She watches Hyejin get up from the porch stairs, where she was just sat, runs her hands over her face and hair as if she has just woken up and heads towards the village exit. Wheein feels her stomach churn with such force that for a minute she wonders if there are real butterflies in there.

This time, before falling asleep, Wheein thinks about how perfect tonight was. Without any weight over their heads or any subject that could make them uncomfortable, no questions about the past mistakes or regard the uncertainty of their future, just the two of them living in the present and enjoying each other's company. It was nice and pleasant but Wheein knows she needs more. She even forgot to ask about Bae, as she’d decided to do the day before. She promises herself that the next time she’s alone with Hyejin she will get some of the answers she longs for.

In the semifinals, following the pattern, Wheein enters the arena with her team and waits for her name to be called on the speakers. She will face an athlete from Australia: one of the title favourites, if she’s being honest. The weight of it finally hits her when the match begins and the cheers coming from the opposing fans make its way to her ears. Usually, she’s able to block out all the outside noises to focus on her goal but today she’s finding it way more difficult to do so. Her first three arrows hit the 8 points mark while the opponent's hits two 9 and a 10. She barely starts and already has 4 points to recover. Wheein suddenly finds it harder to breathe. She feels what’s coming, she recognizes the feeling. She has felt it several times before but she can’t afford to let it take over her, not here, not now; she needs to get her shit together. Wheein tries and takes a moment to calm herself down while the Australian performs her next series.

She takes a few deep breaths and hears shouts of encouragement coming not only from her own teammates, but also from Soojin ( _This is your home, Wheein, you know exactly what to do!_ ), who’s watching from the sidelines; then she hears Byul and Yong from a lower part of the stands, closer than they used to be ( _Come on, Robin Hood!_ ; and _You can do it, show her what you came for!_ ); and suddenly her eyes involuntarily look for _her_ place in the stands. Hyejin seems quite apprehensive, completely frozen and doesn’t say a word, unlike the other spectators around her who are shouting, screaming and jumping around. Hyejin just smiles and waves sheepishly when she realizes that Wheein’s looking at her, but keeps a concerned look on her face. Wheein forces a smile back and takes a deep breath one more time as she hears the sound that indicates that’s her turn again.

She doesn’t even look at her opponent’s side to see how many points she made, Wheein just analyzes the quiver attached to her own waist and chooses her arrow carefully before putting it in position and shooting it in less than ten of the twenty seconds she had. The next two arrows of the series, just like the first one, reach the 10 point mark and Wheein notices that she finally stopped hearing the sounds around her when she sees people vibrating without actually hearing the words coming out of their mouths. At the end of the match she won with a 6 points difference ( _And just because the Australian is very good!_ , Moonbyul made sure to point out later that day), but the result doesn’t leave Wheein as satisfied as the people around her are.

"Dude, I legit thought you were gonna lose." Moonbyul lets it slip as she’s eating a cotton candy at the carnival they’re visiting together that evening. Yongsun gives Moonbyul a stern look that she doesn’t seem to notice, earning a punch in the arm right after. "I mean..." She says, passing a hand over her arm which now hurts. "I've never seen you so nervous, what happened?"

Wheein wasn't bothered by Moonbyul's comment, for a second she also thought she was going to lose, so she doesn’t blame anyone who thought the same. The truth is that it wasn’t anything abnormal, it was just her old anxiety problems resurfacing when she least expects. She panicked for a few minutes and resumed her focus when she remembered why she was playing. So she answers truthfully: "I just panicked. I don't know why, I couldn't concentrate for a while but, fortunately, I was able to recover in time".

"I never doubted you." Yongsun says, stressing the word ‘never’ while looking at Moonbyul with judgment. "After all, Hyejin was there, she wouldn't do a bad job in front of her girlfriend."

Wheein, who had a shameless smile on her face as she was watching Moonsun's fight, pouts once she becomes the target of the time. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Oh, yeah, you think we didn't see you looking for her in the bleachers with that desperate look on your face? It was the gayest thing I've ever seen in my whole life." Moonbyul joins the teasing and pretends to throw up.

"You are the gayest thing you've ever seen in your entire life!” Wheein fires back without thinking twice. "I just needed a little support, I looked for you guys too."

"Not with those fucking hearts eyes, tho. Like, seriously, get a room or something." Wheein restrains herself from saying that she wishes they could.

"Anyways, what did she say when you questioned her about the whole thing with immortals?” Yongsun gets involved to put an end on Moonbyul challenges.

"Er..." Wheein avoids her eyes and fixes her attention on Moonbyul's cotton candy. "Can I have a bite?"

"Haven't you talked about it yet?" Moonbyul scolds as she defensively pulls the cotton candy closer.

"I'm about to drop you, Wheein." Yongsun says, massaging her temples as if that information made her head hurt.

"We’ll talk about it tomorrow!" Wheein promises. "I swear to God, I didn’t even remember it yesterday." She gets incredulous looks from her friends, "I mean it! We were so absolved in other things... I didn't even ask her about Bae how I was planning to. She's... distracting."

"I don't wanna know about all the ways she's distracting you." Yongsun interrupts her quickly.

"It's not like that." Wheein makes a face. "Things are so much easier when I'm with her that I really forget everything that could go wrong."

"Here come the goddamn eyes of hearts again..." Moonbyul rolls her eyes.

"Stop it.” Wheein grunts in frustration. "But I wil tomorrow, I promise. I’m the most interested in getting those answers, you know that."

"You better. Or I'll personally go to her during the final and ask what are her intentions with my friend."

With the mention of the final Wheein's chest hurt with anxiety. She’s already reached one of her goals: she’s already an Olympic medalist, there is no going back on it. But now she’s seeking the gold medal against nothing less than Soojin, the person who’s taught her everything she knows. The final is only two days away and even though she’s confident she knows that the pressure has really increased on her side. The other female athlete from her team, who competed in the 30M category, had lost her match today. She would still compete for the bronze medal, but it really wasn’t the same. All of the other athletes from the men's categories had already been disqualified in the previous phases and Wheein is now the team’s only chance to win a medal.

For a moment she considers the possibility of canceling her date with Hyejin but she soon dismisses the idea since it wouldn’t do her any good. She wouldn't train all night until her fingers get numb again, nor would she lie in her room looking at the ceiling with all sorts of destructive thoughts passing by her head. She would go out with Hyejin, get the answers she needs and, hopefully, everything would be fine. She would be ready, calm and confident on the next day to get the job done. She won't be the kind of person who pushes away everyone and everything good in their life as if they’re all disposable.

"Soojin will be hard to beat." Wheein whispers.

"But you will." Moonbyul assures, Yongsun agrees and a comfortable silence lasts for a few seconds.

"What's your thing with Soojin, anyway? She seems very interested in your business."

"I... she's like a friend, I don't know, I like her."

"But do you just like her or you _like like_ her?" Wheein pauses for a moment to consider the question. She knows that she's never been able to fall in love with Soojin in the past, but she certainly liked her romantically in some kind of way. She even fancied her for a long time, even after the breakup, but she’s not sure where they stand now. What could have happened between them these days if Hyejin hadn't shown up and changed everything?

"I don't know." She says sincerely, answering both Yongsun’s question and her own. 

"Then you should find out, for your own good." Yongsun advises. "You can't solve things with Hyejin if you still feel something for Soojin."

"I haven't thought about Soojin in that way since Hyejin came back."

"So that settles it." Moonbyul affirms. "We are all Team Hyejin here." And the two of them engage in a conversation about all the reasons they didn't like Soojin while she still was in a relationship with Wheein, who only half listens as she ponders with herself the real nature of her feelings for the archer.

Feeling Wheein's anxiety, Byul and Yong decided to spend the night at Wheein's dorm. ( _I'll do you this favor today, but I hope Hyejin will keep you company tomorrow night_ , Moonbyul suggests with a wink on their way back to the Olympic village). Again, Wheein’s very grateful to have them in her life, she really doesn't know what she would do without them. They don't leave her side until she has to leave for her training session the next day, and before they go they promise to be in their usual place in the stands, like the faithful fans they are, being the loudest supporters in the place even if she won’t be able to hear them. It warms her heart more than she can explain.

In the locker room, after training, Wheein has a towel tied over her body while she’s drying her hair with another towel, carelessly. She’s almost done when she gets scared to see someone else's reflection in the blurred mirror before identifying who it was.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Soojin apologies.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, resuming her previous activity.

"I just came to wish you good luck and to apologize again about my attitude the other day, I really didn't have any right going on on you like that." She says it all so fast that Wheein only understands because she knows how Soojin speaks when she’s nervous.

Wheein stops what she’s doing and turns her attention to Soojin. She notices that her cheeks are really flushed but that could be because of the heat in the locker room, which still has a thick layer of hot steam. "It’s fine. But are you fine?"

"I'm okay." She approaches Wheein. "Are you okay?"

"I'm anxious." Wheein answers honestly. "But I'm glad to be doing this with you."

"I won't take it easy with you." She says playfull. 

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"So, I’ve been thinking..." Soojin walks slowly towards Wheein, standing much closer than she was before. "After the match... we could celebrate together again. Regardless of the result, after all, we're both going to be Olympic medalists."

Wheein hadn't made actual plans yet but she already knows how she wants things to be: if she loses she would like nothing but a quiet night with her friends in her own room, no big deal, just time for her to heal; if she wins, tho, she wants to drink her ass off with her friends, her team and everything else she’s entitled to. Now, obviously, Hyejin would also be included in her plans, and maybe Soojin wouldn’t not like it very much. "I don't know..." Wheein lies. "I’ve already made plans with the girls and-" She’s interrupted by an unexpected kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wheein moves away a little bit so she can take a better look at her. For some reason she doesn’t want to admit, she’s really surprised that Hyejin’s still there. Something inside her kept telling her that she would wake up alone, that Hyejin wouldn't be there in the morning and deep down she was really convinced, almost resigned to it. But Hyejin is really here. She stayed, she fulfilled her promise and oh gosh she really is beautiful. And now, unlike the night before, as much as she's not ready to acknowledge it just yet, Wheein’s chest burns with a different kind of feeling this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for anxiety/panic attack in this chapter but I promise it will be brief.  
> And by the way, I apologize in advance but my girl likes to read angst and if she wants something, I give it to her.

**PART III - (3/3)**

**Mexico City, CDMX, MEX (1968)**

Wheein is taken aback at first, but she feels Soojin's hands on either side of her face and by the time she realizes what is happening, her lips are already moving with hers.

Soojin still has one hand on Wheein's face when the other one slips down to her bare shoulder as she interrupts the kiss to clarify. "I meant just the two of us, later." She runs with her hand over Wheein's arms as she speaks. "The competition ends tomorrow, after that there won’t be anything else stopping us."

Wheein expected to feel something. She hoped she would feel butterflies in her stomach, a chill from the touch, a tingling from the kiss, anything at all, but Wheein felt nothing. It’s totally different from any of the kisses they’d shared previously, not even at the time when their relationship was coming to an end they’d shared such a cold kiss. So now Wheein’s sure.

"I'm sorry, Soojin." The regretful tone in her voice is enough to make Soojin take a step back, but she still clarifies: "I can't do this anymore."

Just for a second Soojin's allows herself to show a genuine shocked look on her face. It suddenly changes into a hurt one but soon turns to an understanding smile. It's not as genuine as she thinks it is, but Wheein can see that she's really trying. 

"I mean, um, I don’t want to-, I’m kind of… I’m really sorry." Wheein tries to make the situation better but doesn't find the right words. 

"Don't worry, Wheein, this one is on me, I should have known better." Soojin nods in understanding and starts to walk away. 

Wheein watches Soojin walk to the door without any reaction, trying to assimilate what's happening. "Good luck!" That's all she manages to say since the other woman's already at the door. 

"You're the one who's going to need luck." Soojin says in a light tone and offers a playful smile. Wheein smiles back and waves as Soojin leaves. 

Once she’s alone, Wheein sits on a bench and takes some time to think about the last few minutes' events. Her chest hurts but she’s sure it’s not because of her feelings for Soojin. She knows it comes from the tension of what just happened in addition to the pressure of the finals creeping over her shoulders; and on top of all of it, she still has the expectation of the answers she wants to get from Hyejin.

Suddenly, it all feels like it’s too much for her to handle and Wheein feels like she’s gonna break. She ponders if this is the feeling Soojin always gets and if that’s why she classifies everything that can make her feel something as a distraction. If it is, Wheein will never judge the athlete again. 

What if she loses the competition because of this? What if she can’t give her best on their match because of the guilt she’s feeling right now? What if she feels she needs to take it easy on Soojin after what just happened? _Take it easy?_ A voice screams in the back of her head. _You wouldn't have to take it easy for Soojin to beat you, for God's sake, she will destroy you anyway._ At first it sounded like an unknown voice, but now she notices that it’s Moonbyul’s. And she kept going: _you barely passed through the last phase and you think you have a chance to beat Soojin? She has even more motivation now, she definitely hates you for fooling around with her when it was convenient to you and then turning her down now that she needs you the most._ Wheein eyes are full of tears now. Her best friend wouldn’t lie to her. _And you still have to deal with Hyejin today, -_ and this time it’s Yongsun's voice scolding her - _you know that_ _when you start asking questions she will just leave again, right? Why wouldn't she? There's nothing enough to keep her around, you're nothing to each other._ She’s right, we aren’t even friends, I guess. _You should just drop it and live in the moment while it still lasts. You know it’s gonna end soon and Hyejin is gonna disappear again. It's all a waste of time. You are a waste of time._

With those and many other destructive thoughts haunting her head, Wheein barely manages to get dressed and leaves the locker room towards her dorm. She’s never been so grateful for how close it’s from the arena. Soon later, Wheein falls into her bed watching the white ceiling and trying to think about something else, anything beyond her own confusion, but she can't. She knows she has to get up, she has to get ready, Hyejin will probably arrive soon but she just can't bring herself to do it because her chest burns and her body hurts. She doesn't know how much time has passed but three knocks on the door brings her back to reality. In an automatic motion she stands up and opens the door to find a very smiling Hyejin on the other side, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands, but the smile falls from her face when she looks at the athlete.

Wheein, who feels as if she’s watching the scene from outside her own body, notices, for the first time, that her breathing is irregular and she has a panic look on her face. She sees words coming out of Hyejin's mouth but can't tell which ones. She believes Hyejin asked if she’s okay but she can’t answer that, she doesn’t even tries. Wheein doesn't know who makes the first move but suddenly she finds herself deep in Hyejin’s arms, crying hard on the other woman's chest and very soon after, Wheein is back in her own bed while Hyejin holds her close and Wheein hides her face in her neck.

Time goes by but Wheein doesn't know how long it’s been. She’d stopped crying a long time ago but hadn't said a single word since Hyejin arrived. Hyejin, on the other hand, just held her tight and told her, over and over again, that everything would be okay, no matter what the problem was. It’s already late when Wheein finally feels comfortable enough to talk. 

"I'm sorry." She finally says, still hiding in the comfort of Hyejin’s shoulder.

"You don't have to apologize."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don’t. And that's final, we’re not having this discussion." Hyejin gets just far enough to look at Wheein's face, who avoids her eyes as much as possible. "We don't need to talk about what happened, Wheein, I just want to know what I can do to help.”

Wheein can’t handle her gaze and turns her back to Hyejin, facing the door without saying another word. Hyejin thinks it’s a sign for her to shut up and leave her alone. She’s about to get out of bed to give the athlete some space when Wheein holds her hand and speaks again. "Stay." Her voice is almost inaudible. "Please, don't leave."

At the sign of that Hyejin returns immediately, hugging Wheein from behind and doing everything possible to pass on some confidence. "I won’t, I'm not going anywhere."

Following some more minutes of silence Wheein notices, laying on the floor, the bouquet of flowers that Hyejin had dropped in the process of holding her. Noting Wheein's line of sight, Hyejin explains. "It's a gift for you. It's silly but I wanted to give something to congratulate you on yesterday's victory, I felt that just words weren't enough.” Wheein stays quiet, just nods her head to let Hyejin know that she’s listening: "I got really tense yesterday, it was quite a game. I saw that even Soojin was rooting for you so I knew you would do well.” The mention of Soojin's name makes her shrink even more and Hyejin doesn’t fail to notice. "So that’s what it is about? Are you worried about facing her in the final?" Wheein doesn’t know how to answer so she doesn’t say anything. It kind of is, but it isn’t _just_ that either. She doesn’t feel like she can explain it right now so she turns around, facing Hyejin for a second, and then sinks her face into her neck again, hiding in there. "Okay, okay, so no more talking today, got it." Hyejin gives up the matter for the time being and starts to stroke Wheein's hair slowly. "Get some sleep, okay? I'll be here when you wake up." 

Needless to say that Wheein falls asleep almost immediately. Earlier she was feeling too distressed to talk and way too anxious to sleep, but once she felt safe in Hyejin's arms, she also felt she could deal with all the bad feelings tomorrow. The smell of vanilla and red roses is the most effective lullaby she could ever ask for.

Hyejin, on the other hand, stays awake for hours thinking about Wheein's situation and wondering how she could help her. What if she has anything to do with it? Something tells her that it can’t all be just the pressure of competition, Wheein is a professional athlete, after all, she’s used to this kind of stuff, right? But even if it’s competition-related, what if Hyejin really is being the distraction that Soojin so readily announced, taking her out of her zone and allowing her to feel like she's not giving her best or something like that? This thought makes her feel selfish. Still, she watches Wheein constantly frown in her sleep and kindly wakes her up for two times when it seems like Wheein’s having a nightmare before finally being able to fall asleep herself, almost at dawn.

When Wheein wakes up the next morning she takes a while to remember everything that happened the night before. Her chest still hurts but not nearly as bad as it did the night before. For a second she even thinks that she had dreamed it all, but reality comes crashing down at her once she opens her eyes and sees that Hyejin’s really there. Her embrace is not as tight as it was on the previous night but it’s still there. She’s still there. 

Taking a look at the clock on the bedside table she notices that it’s almost noon but fortunately, due to the final status, today's competition will take place at the end of the afternoon. Wheein moves away a little bit so she can take a better look at her. For some reason she doesn’t want to admit, she’s really surprised that Hyejin’s still there. Something inside her kept telling her that she would wake up alone, that Hyejin wouldn't be there in the morning and deep down she was really convinced, almost resigned to it. But Hyejin is really here. She stayed, she fulfilled her promise and _oh gosh she really is beautiful._ And now, unlike the night before, as much as she's not ready to acknowledge it just yet, Wheein’s chest burns with a different kind of feeling this time.

She observes the peaceful expression on her face and wonders what Hyejin might be dreaming about right now. Wheein takes a hand to Hyejin's face and moves some strands of hair that had fallen on her face, tucking them behind her ear and taking all possible precautions not to wake her up. But her efforts are rudely interrupted by several loud knocks on the door, tho. Hyejin moves uncomfortably, still asleep and Wheein takes the opportunity to get out of her arms, getting up quickly and going towards the door. She stops with a hand on the doorknob, looks back to make sure Hyejin’s still asleep - she turns around facing the other side and is pretty quiet now, so Wheein takes it as a yes - and opens the door just a little to see Moonbyul and Yongsun on the other side. She gets out of the room without fully opening the door and closes it behind her, standing on the porch with the other two women.

"What are you guys doing here?" Wheein whispers, looking anxiously and fixing her hair with nervous hands.

"What do you mean by what are we doing here? We're always here." Yongsun says, raising an eyebrow. 

"Sure, sure, but right now, what do you want?" She keeps her voice low. Moonbyul and Yongsun share a look like they’re talking without words - Wheein hates when they do that. 

"It's game day, Wheein, we always come to see you before your matches." Moonbyul answers as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. "What's going on? Why are we talking out he- OH!!!" The realization hits her before she can finish. “HYEJIN IS INSIDE, HUH?" She says as she goes towards the window and tries to take a look, but the curtains are closed.

"AH!” Yongsun lets out a cry of surprise. "Holy shit, did you guys finally work everything out? WHEEIN, DID YOU FINALLY GOT SOME???"

"SHHHHHH!” Wheein shushes and guides them by their arms to the corner of the porch, the furthest possible place from the window. "Damn, shut up, you'll wake her up!" 

"Is she still sleeping? Looks like it was a good night, then." Yongsun teases. 

"No, no, it's nothing like that." She gestures to emphasize her words. 

"Oh man, I said I was hoping for her to keep you company but I didn't think you'd really have the guts." Moonbyul says patting her on the shoulder.

"Guys!” Wheein raises her voice to conquer their silence. "Listen, can we talk about this later?" The both of them finally seem to notice Wheein's expression. Wheein sits in the middle of a two-seater sofa by the corner and Moonbyul and Yongsun squeeze in there as well, one on each side. 

"You look… you look like you cried." Moonbyul sadly notices. 

"Hey, what happened? What did she do?" Yongsun asks, frowning.

"It's not her fault, she actually helped me." She notices her friends' questioning glances and takes a deep breath to clarify. "I kind of had an anxiety episode yesterday."

"Why?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now." She assures. "I can explain everything to you guys later, okay? Now I have to go back in, apologize to Hyejin and yet, I have to prepare for the final. It's only in a few hours." 

"Oh, Wheein, I'm really sorry." 

"Are you sure you don't need anything? We can help."

"No, I'm sure. Just be there for me later, I'll need it."

After a few more reassurances that Wheein’s okay, Moonbyul and Yongsun leave the village and Wheein returns to her room hoping to find Hyejin still sleeping. But, before going in, Wheein remembers the words she had heard inside her own head when she was in the locker room the night before: the accusations, insults and harsh criticism coming from her best friend’s voices. She can't accept that even for a second she actually believed that any of them would say those horrible things to her. They would never do that, they love her just as much as she loves them and seeing them now actually lifted Wheein’s spirit up, gave her more courage to follow the day.

When she finally opens the door, however, unlike she expected, Hyejin’s sitting in the middle of the bed over her own legs, her hands are over her knees and her hair looking too neat for someone who has just woken up. The bed had been made, the bouquet that was once on the floor had been placed on top of the dresser and the whole place seems much more organized. Wheein enters slowly, slightly embarrassed. 

"Sorry. I tried to keep them quiet but they’re impossible." 

"Don't worry about it."

"Did you hear anything?"

"Almost nothing."

"The ‘almost’ is what frightens me." Hyejin only smiles in response. She’s giving Wheein a chance to talk, but her eyes fall at the newly placed bouquet on the dresser.

"Thanks for that."

"Don't need to thank me, you've earned it."

"For that shitty win?" The concerns about her last performance took over once again. 

"It wasn't shitty, it’s a victory. You're in the final."

"Barely." 

"You are, Wheein. Is that why you're so nervous?" Hyejin tries.

"That's... part of the problem." Wheein feels her breathing start to get irregular again and walks around the room pretending to pack some things so Hyejin won't notice. 

"Wanna tell me the rest?" 

"Not now." Her heart is beating so fast that it almost hurts. Hyejin gets out of bed and goes towards Wheein, who had just picked up her uniform in a drawer. Hyejin takes the uniform out of Wheein's hands, places it on the bed and takes Wheein's right hand for herself, holding it between her own hands and placing it on her chest.

"Take deep breaths with me, just follow my lead." Wheein follows Hyejin's instructions keeping her eyes closed. She copies the other woman's breathing, feeling her chest rising and falling, feeling Hyejin's heartbeat under her touch until her own breath starts to set.

Little by little she feels her heart rate go down, mimicking Hyejin's. Her chest hurts less and she feels like she can breathe regularly again. Only then Wheein opens her eyes and faces Hyejin's attentive look over her. They stare at each other for a few seconds, still matching their breaths, and at that moment Wheein feel like it’s the most intimate act they’ve shared so far. It’s pure, sweet and caring. It feels… safe? She doesn’t know how to explain.

"Thank you." Wheein says as her hand is still on Hyejin's chest. "And I'm sorry about yesterday."

"You don't need to thank me, let alone apologize."

"But I feel like I do."

"But you don't, trust me." Hyejin puts their hands down but they're still connected. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this, I just want to know how I can help."

"You really have helped already." The words come out before Wheein can think. Hyejin looks at her with so much tenderness that for a second Wheein thinks that she’s going to kiss her, but she just picks Wheein’s uniform and gives it back to her before she goes back to bed. 

"I'll stay here with you until the game, okay?" She sits in the same position as she was before but the expression on her face is now indecipherable. 

"Of course." Wheein says before going to the bathroom to take a shower so she can try to relax. She lets the running water try to calm her heart but she knows that nothing will be as effective as Hyejin's, voice, touch and presence. When she comes back to the room Hyejin’s at the same place, but now she has a newspaper from the day before in her hands, which was previously thrown at the table.

"There's a picture of you in here and everything." She says. "You really beat the favorite, huh? This is amazing." Wheein pretends not to know where Hyejin’s going with this. 

"You seemed very apprehensive yesterday." Wheein remembers.

"What?" She takes her eyes off the paper for the first time since Wheein came back. 

"At the match yesterday. You looked really worried when I spotted you in the bleachers." She looks straight at Hyejin so she can see if she lies. 

"Oh, I was. I didn't think you were going to lose, but you looked lost for a second there and it scared the shit out of me." She says and Wheein thinks it's kind of cute. 

"I was just nervous but…” She answers, looking away. “I’m glad you were there. Seeing you calmed me down."

"That's really good to hear.” Hyejin says, clearly relieved. “For a minute I thought I was part of the problem. I could see Soojin putting an arrow through my head right there at the spot, it was very scary." She tries and gets a brief laugh out of Wheein, but, once again, the mention of Soojin reminds her of the events of the previous night. "Am I?" Hyejin promptly asks, seeing the change in Wheein’s expression.

"What?" She doesn't understand the question as her thoughts went back to Soojin.

"Part of the problem. It’s Soojin, right? Or have I been getting in your way? Distraction you from your goal?" Hyejin cuts straight to the point. 

"No, not really." Wheein says after pondering for a few seconds and deciding to sugarcoat the truth a little, but not lying, nevertheless. "You're a welcome distraction and you’re not pushing me away from my goal, I swear." 

"So what happened yesterday?"

"A panic attack? Anxiety? I don't know." Wheein struggles. "I haven't had one of those in a long time, it was all just… a lot. Too much to handle at once, I guess." 

"I can't help but think that if I wasn't here you'd be more focused on the game. I really think I should have waited."

"What I think…” Wheein says as she sits next to Hyejin in bed. "Is that if you hadn't been here I probably would have had one of those a long time ago. You help me, Hyejin, yesterday is the proof: if you hadn't been here I would have just collapsed all night until Byul and Yong got here in the morning, so I'm really grateful to have you with me these days.” They look into each other’s eyes for a while until Hyejin can't hold herself any longer and gives Wheein a long-awaited breathtaking kiss. Wheein's hands travel to Hyejin's waist while she carefully holds Wheein's face, getting more and more energetic by the second. They wish it lasted longer but they’re really trying not to cross a line here, so they finally separate their lips, resting their foreheads together and panting with their eyes closed. "But we still have a lot to talk about. I need some answers, Hyejin."

"I know." Hyejin steals peck. "Tomorrow, I promise."

And with that promise they put an end to matter for the time being. A couple of hours later Wheein says goodbye to Hyejin and joins her coach along with the rest of her team who are there to support her. She tries her best to stay calm but it seems time began to pass painfully slowly after she left Hyejin's side. She’s very aware of everything that happens around her: alll of the voices, all of the conversations, all of the noise. It's all very, very loud and she wonders if she will be able to put an end to it soon.

When the games finally begins, Wheein has never been so happy to be the first one to compete as she’s today. She’s sure she would go mad if she had to sit there and watch each of the other categories compete before hers. Her name echoes throughout the arena and Wheein takes a one final deep breath before heading to her designated lane. She sees the rampage taking over the place, she knows that there are people screaming in every direction but she doesn't hear any of that. She successfully blocks out the world around her and can’t be happier about it. Soojin’s already on her side of the lane when she arrives. Wheein offers a weak smile and receives a confident nod in return.

"We’re fine, Wheein." She sees the words come out of Soojin's mouth and pays more attention to hear her properly. “I know how you're like, don't let what happened yesterday get in your way, okay? We’re good."

It doesn’t surprise Wheein the fact that Soojin knows exactly what she’s thinking, she was always a good listener and very attentive to Wheein's feelings and problems. She could have used it against Wheein but it isn’t who Soojin is. She really is one of the good ones and Wheein couldn't be more grateful for her words now.

"I won't hold back, so I don’t want you to either." She finishes and Wheein nods in agreement. She also mouths a ‘thank you’ and is finally able to let out a genuine smile to her competitor, to her friend. 

At first, it’s a really tense but very balanced match. Soojin starts the series shooting three arrows, all reaching the 10 point mark and Wheein, right after, reaches the same score. Every time Soojin plays, Wheein makes exactly the same score soon after. Even when the other athlete doesn’t do so well, Wheein's performance is almost the same, it’s as if she’s copying Soojin moves. 

Once they reach the break, Soojin leaves the bench she’s sitting among her crew and gives Wheein a pointed look before heading towards the locker room, meaning she wants Wheein to follow her. Against all logic she chooses to follow Soojin, receiving an incredulous look from her coach which Wheein ignores as she passes by. 

"What are you doing? Soojin presses as soon as the door closes behind them. 

"Competing?"

"Wheein, I just hit two sevens and right after you just did the same. You don't miss like that, you never get less than eight, everybody knows that." She looks really distressed. 

"And neither do you! Why are you holding back?" Wheein fires automatically, without even thinking. 

"I'm not!" Soojin almost screams, venting. "I'm fucking nervous, Wheein, that's why I’m missing. Since the beginning of the competition I've been barely passing! I just won by two, three, four points, hell, I almost didn't qualify for the knockout stages."

"I… I thought you were holding on to eliminate the best ones first, just like you told me when we were training." Wheein’s stutters, choosing her words carefully to hide her shock.

"Well, I wasn't. It's just... I'm not as good as I used to be." She painfully admits. "These are my last games as an Olympic athlete, I'm retiring." Wheein doesn't believe it at first but it does make sense. Looking back now, the signs were there. It’s Soojin's third Olympics and although she's not old, everyone knows that Olympic athletes' careers don't tend to last that long. It even makes sense Soojin's obsession with classifying everything else as a distraction to be taken away from her life, including Wheein herself. "I'm not telling you this for you to feel sorry for me, I'm saying it because if I'm going down, I don't want to get something out of pity, it would be humiliating. So you get your shit together and do your best out there if you have at least some respect for me and everything we had."

Soojin gets out of the locker room leaving a confused Wheein behind. Although Soojin’s right, Wheein was also sincere when she said she wasn't holding back, she was just too anxious to perform better. She only now realized she was really aiming for the same score as Soojin just to make sure she would have at least the same points as her, instead of trying to score more and risk making a mistake. She believed that if she stayed too far behind in the score she wouldn't be able to recover, so she was just playing it safe. But she knows she needs to change her strategy now, and she will. After all, even though Soojin doesn’t know, these are also Wheein's only and last Olympic games. She can’t remain a public person for long, - no reasonable immortal would, it’s too risky - she’s already made up her mind about it. With all of this in mind Wheein returns to her lane right at the end of the break, determined to change her strategy and give her best to win this match. She's come way too far just to give up now.

After that the competition gets much more interesting with both Soojin and Wheein constantly changing in the lead. The score gets so tight that it’s only decided in the last series, where Soojin hits two 9s and a 10. Wheein needs to get three 9s to win but the first arrow of her series hits 8 points mark. That’s when the overwhelming pressure hits again: she feels her chest hurt and her lungs start to shut down, getting harder and harder to breathe. _C’mon, Wheein, not know._ She’s trying to convince herself that it’s now happening when the sound of the supporters’ screams breaks through the invisible barrier she’d so successfully created just an hour ago.

She thinks about seeking for her friends' support in the crowd one more time but she has already picked up her next arrow so she has only twenty seconds and counting... she doesn’t have time for it, she needs to take her shot but her hands won’t stop shaking. So she decides to do the next closest thing that she believes will calm her mind: she thinks about Hyejin's heartbeats; she thinks about earlier, how her chest would get up and down as she breathed along with Wheein, and how it felt like... home. That’s the feeling she wasn’t able to distinguish then but now it’s crystal clear. She can almost feel Hyejin’s heartbeats on her fingertips, just like this morning, and fortunately it’s just enough for her to get herself together.

So, without thinking twice she raises the bow, aims and hits the 10 point mark on the last remaining second, recovering the point she’d lost on her previous shot. Once again she realizes that she doesn't listen to the people around her, she only sees fists rising in afar and people jumping at the bleachers. She takes one last peek at Soojin before taking her last arrow from the quiver. Soojin seems apprehensive, very serious and has her arms crossed tightly, but Wheein doesn’t let herself be shaken by this. She just positions herself turning ahead again, raises her bow, feeling the cold bowstring on her nose, closes her left eye and just for a second thinks about trying to hit a safe 9, after all, she only needs a 9 to win. But she sends this thought to hell and gets a perfect 10 without breaking a sweat. 

And that's it, Wheein is an Olympic gold medalist now. She's done it.

Everything that happens after is a very welcome mess that will be happily marked in Wheein’s memory forever. She receives hugs and congratulations from her own team, from Soojin's team and from Soojin herself; from the other athletes who were close by, from a multitude of people in the bleachers who exploded in celebration, and everything else she’s entitled to. She participates in the award ceremony and proudly wears the gold medal she’s fought so hard for. Soon after the ceremony is over, she meets Moonbyul, Yongsun and Hyejin, accompanied by Joohyun, in the lobby. Between hugs and pats on the back Wheein can't help herself and kisses Hyejin energetically right now and there, receiving a wave of applause from their friends and a lot of teasing about it right away. It feels so much like a dream that she has to remind herself that she’s actually living it. Later still, obviously, they party all night like they've never done before.

When Wheein wakes up the next morning - afternoon, actually - the first thing she notices is that she’s in a different place from the room that has been hers for the last weeks. It takes her a few seconds to assimilate where she is: at Yongsun and Moonbyul hotel room, which they’ve been sharing since they’ve arrived in Mexico. The both of them are actually on the bed with Wheein, deep in sleep. There are about five more people spread around the small loft, all of them are Wheein's teammates who were also invited to the party - which had to be moved to the hotel since the Olympic village’s security guards almost kicked them out because of the noise, ater all, even though Wheein's competition was over, there are several others still happening for the next two weeks. Her head hurts a little but she remembers everything that happened that night before, including Hyejin agreeing to stay over because Joohyun drank too much and passed out on the couch (Wheein is starting to really like her now).

A familiar panic rises in her chests when she looks at the couch Hyejin had slept on and doesn’t see neither her nor Joohyun there. She gets up immediately - which makes her head spin a little - and finds a note sitting on the dresser. It’s in an unknown handwriting, but she knows exactly who it’s from.

_"Today. Same place, same time.  
P.S.: I promised I’d leave a note in case it happened again."  
_

Her heart skips a beat but this time is for a different reason.

Later, when Moonbyul and Yongsun wake up and sit down to have breakfast with her, a curious thought occurs to Wheein.

"Have you guys been sharing a one-bed apartment for the last two weeks?

"Yeah?"

"What about it?"

"Nothing..." Wheein restricts herself from making more comments and sticks a toast in her mouth to contain the smile. _Ah, those two._

Wheein proudly wears her gold medal around her neck all day long. She reluctantly takes it off to borrow it to Moonbyul for exactly ten seconds, late in the afternoon, after all the other guests had left the loft. Then, Wheein tells her friends everything that had happened the night before, from Soojin's kiss to the moment Hyejin left her with her team.

"Damn, I'm really starting to like Hyejin." Moonbyul says.

"I hope you really get the answers you're looking for today, Wheein."

"Me too, Yong, me too." And she does really hope so.

When night falls, Wheein waits for Hyejin on her porch, not even bothering that it might seem desperate, she just wants to see her soon. So she's really satisfied when Hyejin arrives ten minutes earlier with an even bigger bouquet than the first one.

"If I gave you a gift for reaching the final it would be incoherent not to give you anything for winning the competition, wouldn't it?"

Wheein thanks her, puts the flowers in a vase inside of the room and goes back to Hyejin, who takes her hand and guides her towards the parking lot.

"Aren't we going to take a cab?"

"I'm driving today." She says swinging some keys that Wheein hadn't noticed before.

"Do you drive?" There's disbelief in her voice.

"Don't you?"

"No. Never have, never will. That's a talent I never had."

"I can teach you."

"I think I'll pass." Hyejin fakes offense as they arrive in a big red pickup truck.

"Ma'am." Hyejin makes a scene of opening the passenger door.

"Thank you." Wheein laughs as she gets in the car. Hyejin turns around and jumps into the driver's seat, starting the vehicle.

“Put your seatbelt on.” Hyejin instructs.

“Really?” Wheein makes a face but the look Hyejin sends tells her that she’s not joking. 

“Okay…” She puts on her seatbelt and looks expectantly at Hyejin. “Where are we going?" 

"It's a surprise." Hyejin says, also putting her seatbelt on.

"Last time you said that you had no idea where we were going."

"That's your version of the story..."

"Oh, shut up." Wheein turns the radio on. A soft r&b song is playing and she turns up the volume.

"Okay, but this time it's serious." Hyejin smiles and looks briefly at Wheein before turning her eyes to the road. "I'll be honest and say I never actually went there, but when I explained what I wanted to the receptionist of the hotel I’m staying at, he said it’s the perfect place, so I'm believing him."

"Oh God, you really don’t know where we’re going.” Wheein can't help but laugh.

"I went there this afternoon to get a better idea of thow to get there, that’s why I left you so early today, but I didn't make it all the way there. I would have been late to pick you up if I had." She defends herself.

"Whatever you say." She teases at the same time Can't Help Falling in Love starts to play on the radio. Wheein decides to put an end to her mocking in order to enjoy the song, and by song she means Hyejin singing along each word of the music.

_“Wise men say  
Only fools rush in  
But I can't help falling in love with you”  
_

Wheein hadn’t noticed how much she missed hearing Hyejin singing until that moment. She involuntarily closes her eyes and lets herself be carried away. 

_“Shall I stay?  
Would it be a sin  
If I can't help falling in love with you?”  
_

Wheein looks at Hyejin again and feels like she's seeing a miracle. The inside of the truck is dark now that they’ve left the city and reached the expressway. The only lights available came from the moon and the few lampposts, which only partially illuminates Hyejin's face giving her an angelic aurea that Wheein can not put into words. She's totally mesmerized and couldn’t bring herself to take her eyes off Hyejin's even if she wanted. And she really doesn't want to. 

_“Like a river flows  
Surely to the sea   
Darling, so it goes  
Some things are meant to be”  
_

Wheein is sure she didn't just imagine the wink Hyejin sent her before turning her attention back forward. Hyejin's voice is as intoxicating as the first time Wheein heard it, if not more. 

_“Take my hand  
Take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you”  
_

With no hesitation Hyejin takes one of Wheein's hands, intertwines their fingers and places them on her own thigh without taking her eyes off the road and without missing a single note.

"I’ve missed it." Wheein doesn't have to explain, Hyejin knows exactly what she’s talking about. "You should sing more, you're wasting your talent."

"You know better than anyone that we can't be public people, babe." _Oh, there it is again_. Wheein thinks but doesn’t say anything. "And as long as I'm putting that smile on your face I'm not wasting anything." Wheein doesn’t realize she has _that_ smile on her face until Hyejin mentions it.

Wheein doesn't even try to deny it, she just shrugs, removes her seat belt and sits closer to Hyejin, hugging her arm and resting her head on her shoulder while the song comes to an end. They go the rest of the way like this and Hyejin makes a point of singing every song that comes out of the radio like it is a private show for Wheein.

"Okay, now I'm starting to get worried. You're definitely going to kill me, aren't you?" Wheein asks, raising her head from Hyejin's shoulder to take a better look but not releasing her arm. They just entered a dirt road surrounded by very tall trees. It looks like a trail, far away from any part of town that Wheein knows.

"That’s it, you caught me." Hyejin deadpans.

"Hyejin, come on, tell me where we're going." She whines back.

"We're almost there, calm down." She promises and she delivers. Ten minutes and what seemed like thousands of Wheein's complaints and unfunny jokes later they hit a big plateau, also surrounded by trees. The place is huge and there are about four more cars up there, spread out so that everyone is very far away from each other. The flat space gives a privileged view to the city. Everything looks tiny and there are millions of lights flashing everywhere down there.

"Damn, that's..." Wheein’s left speechless but the beauty of the place.

"A nice place for a murder?" Hyejin teases while she handles the car so that the back of the vehicle faces the view.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't we be looking at the view?" She kneels down on the seat to look back.

"We're not staying in the cabin, we're going to the back." Hyejin pulls the handbrake and opens her own door. "Don't move, I'll open the door for you."

"Why are you doing this?" Wheein questions but obeys.

"It's romantic." She responds simply while opening the passenger door. Wheein rolls her eyes but doesn't disagree. "Okay, now, come here." Hyejin takes her hand and slams the door once Wheein gets out of the cabin, guiding her back.

Wheein hadn’t realized it before - she actually didn't even think to look - but the trunk is full of stuff: at least three or four blankets, a whole lot pillows and a picnic basket. Now she understands and her heart melts.

"What are you waiting for? Come in." Hyejin's already on top of the trunk, holding out her hands in the air. She takes them and gets in, taking her shoes off before sitting on the covers. Hyejin’s watching Wheein carefully as she looks around taking it all in. "So, do you like it?" She asks apprehensively.

"I love it." Wheein breaks into a smile and Hyejin follows.

"Good, the guy at the hotel said it’s beautiful but I had no idea how much." Hyejin turns her attention to the landscape.

"It's definitely one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen." Wheein isn’t even talking about the city. She couldn't take her eyes off Hyejin, who seems to look even more stunning under the moonlight, but the other woman doesn’t seem to notice.

"And I brought food." Hyejin reaches for the picnic basket and puts it between them. "Everything is home cooked. By Joohyun, of course, she's a wonderful cook. I'm still in the process of learning but she doesn't have much patience for it lately. Are you hungry?” Wheein thinks she looks cute like that, talking too fast like an enthusiastic kid, so she nods and Hyejin starts to take things out of the basket. 

They ate while they talked about the events of the last two days. Wheein finally told Hyejin about her clash with Soojin after her last practice and how it triggered a chain of dark thoughts she had been holding on for a long time. Wheein purposely left out two things: the kiss and thoughts about Hyejin’s unanswered questions that were also part of the problem. The first she didn't think was important, the second she chose to leave out so they could discuss later.

Then she tells Hyejin about their conversation at game break, all about Soojin retiring and how Wheein didn't realize she was holding herself back until that moment.

"... and as much as I like her I couldn't step down and keep holding back, you know? It would be disrespectful. Besides, it's her last chance but it's mine too, for fuck’s sake. She had already won a gold medal before, I only had that one and last chance." She finishes.

"What do you mean last? You’re not competing anymore?"

"No, I can't."

"Wheein!? Yes, you can. You're amazing, what are you talking about?"

"I could but I won't. You said it yourself today, we can't be public people for long, Hyejin. I made this decision right at the beginning, when I decided I wanted to become a professional: just one Olympic. Either winning or losing I was only going to have this year. It's safer that way.” Wheein’s very resigned and comfortable with her decision. She had talked about it with Moonbyul and Yongsun way before she even believed she could really qualify. It was settled for a long time and she’s extremely happy to have achieved her goal with a gold medal.

"It makes sense..." Hyejin agrees. "It's a pity, nonetheless. It's like you were born for this."

"And there was a time when you said you're a better shooter than me."

"Hey, no, don't remind me. It’s an honest mistake at the time."

"Whatever you say." Wheein says as she bites a piece of the cake Hyejin bought for dessert. "Wow, this friend of yours is really good. Tell Joohyun I sent my best compliment to the chef." Joohyun insisted that Wheein stopped calling her by her family name. And well, after doing a duet of Oh, Pretty Woman, completely drunk on the balcony of the hotel room, drawing attention from the people below and embarrassing themselves together, Wheein feels that they have passed the formality phase.

"Right? She’s a woman of many talents.” Hyejin says and Wheein takes it as a cue.

“I've been meaning to ask you more about her.”

"She’s a nice person and the most loyal friend I've ever had." Wheein just hums in agreement to keep her going. Hyejin ponders for a few seconds and decides to take off the band aid, cutting straight to the point and return to the subject Wheein had talked about a few days before. "At Colditz.... you commented about her attitude there..."

"And I apologized, it’s not my place, you don’t have to talk about it."

"No, it’s fine, I insist. It will explain a lot of things and answer some of the questions I know you must have." Wheein tenses up and nods, waiting for her to continue. 

This is a moment she has been waiting for so long that now, in the face of the potential answers, she doesn't even know how to act. Wheein's heart beats fast in expectation while Hyejin hurts with the burden of being the one who has to deliver the cold shock of reality.

"Well, we've known each other for a long, long time now. She’s the person who helped me understand what we are, you know? We learned together and she's been with me forever." Hyejin looks down to the city lights as she speaks. "And she lost someone… Before Colditz, in the mission that got us arrested. _We_ lost someone."

"Williams told us." She remembers.

"Did he tell you everything?"

"What exactly would be everything? He just told us that someone made a mistake and that's the reason why you guys were captured or something like that."

"That sick bastard! A mistake??? That's not why we… fuck, she’s actually the only reason why things didn't get any worse!" Hyejin suddenly gets very nervous but tries to hold her anger so she can continue to explain. "It doesn't matter anymore." She says right after she sighs sadly. "She was Joohyun’s wife. And my best friend. She died saving her life."

"Saving her... life? But she’s... she's an immortal." Wheein claims like it’s an obvious answer. She _doesn’t need to be saved_ , she thinks, _there’s no way she’s not immortal_. Wheein saw her twenty years ago and earlier today when she was passed out on the couch with the very same face, she hasn’t aged one day since they first met.

"And so was she, her wife, I mean. But not when they were together.” Hyejin says calmly.

"I'm not following." Her mind is beginning to get foggy.

"Did he lie to you? Did Williams say that Seulgi was just some common mortal?" There’s still anger in her voice.

Wheein assumes that Seulgi was Joohyun’s wife, she doesn't think she needs to ask. She struggles to remember what exactly Williams told them, but she has to admit that he never said the third agent wasn't immortal. He chose his words carefully and let her and the girls take their own conclusions. 

" _Ahn and Joohyun are immortals, but there were complications..._ " Hyejin looks at her with a questioning look. ". _..that's why you shouldn't mix._ " Wheein finishes. Her good memory has always been a blessing but now she’s not so sure. "That's what Williams said, he never explained."

On their own conclusions, Wheein, Moonbyul and Yongsun had just assumed the third agent wasn't immortal and that Williams didn't approve of mortals and immortals mixing up.

" _That's why you guys shouldn't mix?”_ Hyejin repeats with disdain. "That fucking piece of shit! All he wanted was our skills, he didn't care about any of us." Every single word she says is full of hate. 

"Hyejin, I don't understand." Wheein’s very confused.

"He didn't approve of immortals being together because he knows the truth and he didn't want to take the risk. He never wanted to accept that with each other we could... fall in love. That's what he meant by ‘mix’." Wheein gets more and more disturbed every minute, none of this makes any sense in her head and apparently Hyejin can see right through her because she gives an empathetic smile - the first one since they started to talk about Joohyun _. Was it so bad to fall in love with a coworker? Is that why their mission failed and Williams didn’t like it?_ It’s like Hyejin read her thoughts. “You really have no idea... I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing."

"From my point of view it's very bad. Will you finally explain it to me or will I have to get my answer from your friend?" Wheein's harsher than she intended but she's not bothered by it. She doesn’t like the position she’s in right now. 

"You haven't known many immortals in your life, have you?" 

"Besides Byul and Yong, about five or six, I don't know. Always briefly. They always want to keep their distance and we’re honestly happy to comply. They're not very nice".

"Lucky you."

"Hyejin!” She calls in frustration.

"I've met dozens, grown up with a few. I learned about who we are, how we live, what we are meant to do and how we die; but never where we came from and how we came to be. If anyone knows the answer to the last two, this secret is being kept under lock and key." Although Wheein listens carefully to every word said by Hyejin, one part in particular draws her attention the most.

"How... how we die?"

"No one should live forever, Wheein."

"But we do. That's the whole point of being immortal!" Wheein’s no longer so sure of her own words. "Trust me, I've been in enough accidents to know I wouldn't be here if I didn't live forever."

"Many people live a lifetime without truly falling in love. Most of those don't have the chance to know the love of their life because their yet-to-be their loved one might be in a different place, distinct time or even in another reality, so they never get a chance to meet. But not for us, tho, _our lineage was given a gift._ We, on the other hand, have the chance to find them despite everything. Independent of anything. We have the most precious gift of all: unlimited time to try." Hyejin says these words in a monotonous tone as if it was a decorated speech, like it’s something she’s heard hundreds of times before. "That's how they taught me. This is how they taught me and Joohyun."

Wheein feels like she knows where this is going but it seems too crazy, so she doesn't say anything, just expects Hyejin to continue.

"What they say is… once we find our true love we become vulnerable. Physically vulnerable." She feels she’s to explain. "Once the both parts accept their feelings and allow themselves to be together they just... stop being immortals. As if the main goal has been accomplished and there is no point in living forever anymore."

And there it is. That's a lot of information for Wheein to take in. She looks down at the city lights, completely shocked, as she tries to process everything she just heard. Of course she's asked herself several times what was the point of it. Never dying? That’s madness, no? Was there anything more to it or she’s just supposed to keep going and see where it takes her? Although she’s never complained, - I mean, why would she? She loves her life, her friends, everything is good - it’s been the topic of countless drunken nights with Yong and Byul, but not even in their craziest theories they would have imagined this. _It's insane_.

"It really is." Hyejin agrees and Wheein realizes that she said the last sentence out loud. They find each other's eyes for a second before Hyejin looks away. "It's stupid. Does it mean that our whole lives are supposed to revolve around someone else? Just the romantic kind of love? Like we're just born to fall in love and then die? Life shouldn’t revolve around it, there has to be more." She completes without the courage to look at Wheein again. Wheein really doesn't know what to say, it’s too much information to take in in such a small amount of time. "That's why immortals stay away from each other. They're not nice to you because they don't want to take the risk, you know? Staying away from each other is a defense mechanism for our immortality."

"It makes sense..." That's all Wheein manages to say.

"Joohyun and I promised to never fall in love… like we could help it.” She laughs dismissively. “Until one day she did. She did and so she became mortal. Seulgi made her very happy and... she made me happy too, we became very good friends.” She takes a moment and Wheein just knows that Hyejin’s thinking about the good moments she’d spend with her friend. “But our line of work was dangerous and one day... one day she was just gone. Seulgi saved Joohyun’s life and I know she did it not only for her but for me too."

"How so?" Her voice came out like a whisper.

"When they fell in love I was very upset at first. I know I was just being selfish but I couldn't accept that I would lose Joohyun, even if it would take years for it to happen. Then, one time, Seulgi and I got ourselves in a terrible argument because of it. I felt like she was an intruder in our lives, you know? My relationship with Joohyun is totally platonic but I couldn't imagine my life without her. Still can’t. She’s my damn best friend, how could I live an eternity without her??? I know you must understand…” Hyejin’s voice fails and she takes a pause to compose herself. “But eventually me and Seulgi made up, we talked things through, I realized I was being kind of insane but she also understood that it was very scary for me, getting used to the idea that soon I’d have to live in a world without my best friend. And then my two best friends, because I started to love her the same way.” Another meaningful pause takes place and the sound of the wind fills the cold air. “Anyways, I came to terms with it and I was actually really happy for them. I thought that when it came the time for Joohyun to… well, to die, it would be because of age. I believed that we would still have many, many years together, but then she almost died… before the war, in a car accident, nonetheless."

"I'm really sorry."

"Both Seulgi and I were devastated... She saw how much her absence affected me, I guess, so in a moment of despair she promised me that if Joohyun got better she would leave. She would leave us, leave Joohyun and stay as far as she could so that she would get back her immortality but I didn't let her. They were made for each other, I couldn't let her just walk away out of fear. I convinced her to stay and even agreeing, Seulgi promised she would do her best to protect Joohyun, no matter what. And so she did, before Colditz, she died in my arms with an unconscious but safe Joohyun by our side. She took a bullet for her and her last words were..." Hyejin chokes on her own words, tears running down her face. Wheein doesn’t know when Hyejin started to cry but she notices that her own eyes are also tearful.

"You don't have to..." Wheein gets closer and takes one of her hands in an attempt to comfort her.

" _I kept my promise, now it’s your turn to take care of her for me_." Hyejin wipes the tears on her face with the back of her free hand. "Those were her last words, so you can imagine the damage it did to Joohyun. It took her years to get better but she’s never been the old Joohyun I knew before, never. That's why I asked you not to judge her by her actions in Colditz, she had just lost the love of her life. It was a very difficult time."

"I don't even know what to say." And she really didn't. Suddenly the whole ‘ _I don’t do immortals_ ’ thing makes sense. Way too much. Hyejin’s right, talking about Joohyun really brought answers to many of her questions, but those answers also brought more questions, most of which she doesn’t even know how to ask. "I’m sorry for her, and for you.”

"It's... fine now. Not great, but good." They keep looking at anywhere but each other. Hyejin’s relieved to finally get it all off of her chest. Since Colditz she’s suspected that Wheein didn't know how things worked for them, but she didn't want to be the one who had to tell her. Wheein, on the other hand, feels totally anesthetized. As if it’s all a dream, a nightmare, that she would wake up soon, but suddenly a thought occurs to her.

"That doesn't make sense, we can't accept it."

"It doesn't matter what we think, Wheein, it’s just how it is. Most of us already don’t accept it, but it doesn’t change anything. We just keep our distance so it doesn’t happen to us." Hyejin quietly takes back her hand, crossing her arms and looking at the city again. 

"Moonbyul and Yongsun." Wheein points out. "They're completely in love with each other and they're still alive and well. They don't age or anything like that, so it must have a loophole.” 

"They’re together? For real?" Hyejin looks at Wheein with pleading eyes, showing a hope that she wasn’t able to hold back. 

"Not together _together_... they think it’s platonic, I guess..." Hyejin's expression falls. "But you don't know them like I do.” Wheein says energetically. “I know, I just know that they've been in love with each other since I’ve met them. They may not realize it but I know, anyone who gets to know them knows it too."

"If they haven’t recognized their feelings it doesn't make any difference. They’re just friends now. Once this happens you will notice the difference." All hope she had is gone and she feels a little foolish for allowing herself to think it could be different.

"It can't be true, Hyejin. It can't be..." The tears that were hesitating on Wheein's face began to fall down. The penny has finally dropped.

"I'm sorry, but I've seen it happen too many times to know." Hyejin gets closer so she can wipe the tears out of Wheein's face. "It wasn't just Seulgi and Joohyun. My parents too... they’re immortals before I was born, before they chose to be together. That's a lot of cases, Wheein, I wish I was wrong."

A meaningful silence follows Hyejin's words. They spend a few seconds absorbed in their own thoughts, not saying a single word before Wheein can’t take it anymore.

"So now what?" She says and lets out a sad sigh. 

Hyejin mimics Wheein's sigh and pulls up against the trunk wall, where the cabin is. She hugs Wheein in the process and pulls her close so they're holding each other. Wheein rests her head on Hyejin's chest and Hyejin feels Wheein's tears wetting her shirt.

"I... I love you, Wheein." She finally admits. "It's weird for me to say it but I'm sure I don't have another name for this feeling that has been consuming me from inside out, little by little, since I’ve met you. I didn't know what it was until recently but now I can’t be more sure, I love you."

The way Wheein's greatest dream becomes her craziest nightmare would be comical if it wasn't tragic. She lets a throaty sad laugh escape but she can't say anything, Wheein just keeps sobbing quietly in Hyejin’s chest.

"You don’t have to say it back, I know you have feelings for me. If you didn’t we wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have let me back into your life after all that shit I put you through. So I know that right now, being like that, that makes us vulnerable. And I'm not just talking emotionally.” Her voice is shaking at the end and she takes a moment. Wheein thinks she will get herself together but when she talks again her voice is even weaker. She’s venting. "The worst part is that it seems like a curse follows those of us who accept our destinies. I can count on my fingers how many of these couples I’ve seen growing old together. It’s almost always an accident, a disease, a… disgrace that takes one of them away! It seems like a curse that prevents us from being happy. Why the fuck is it our destinies if we won’t be happy either way???” Hyejin sreams looking up at the sky like she’s waiting for an answer that never comes.

“Hyejin…” Wheein tries but Hyejiin keeps talking, hugging her closer. 

“If it were guaranteed that we could live a long and happy life together but… but the possibilities scare the shit out of me. If the worst happens and I have to watch you die, Wheein, I couldn’t take it, I’m not as strong as Joohyun, I don't know if..." She can’t even finish the sentence. "Or… if something happens to me? I honestly don't care about me, I'd rather it be me rather than you but then I’d just leave Joohyun? After promising Seulgi I would take care of her? I can’t stop thinking about how selfish it would be after she gave her life so that Joohyun could continue to be in mine."

“I can’t put them through it." Wheein says firmly, thinking about Moonbyul and Yongsun but she doesn’t need to say it, Hyejin knows exactly what she's talking about. "They can never know the truth, the whole story… It can change everything..." Wheein chokes on her own words just like Hyejin did earlier. A void so big opens up in her chest that she starts to feel numb.

"I know..." Hyejin kisses Wheein's forehead. "It’s okay, I understand."

Then stay in each other's arms under a bright starry night, under the most beautiful and sad navy blue they've ever seen, for as long as they can. The singing of the birds around the threes and the rising sun on the horizon takes them out of the bubble they spend all night in.

The ride back is heavy and silent. In contrast to the thrilling and fun trip mood they had on their way there, this time Wheein doesn’t hold Hyejin or rest her head on her shoulder. Quite the opposite, she sits pressed against the passenger door, head leaning on the window with her arms crossed as if she wants to hold herself and put as much distance between them as possible. They don’t even turn the radio on. They don’t need a song telling them things they already know, the overwhelming and crushing feelings they’re experiencing are already enough.

Even though Hyejin knew this would happen she would be lying if she said that a small part of her, a helpless romantic, slightly selfish one, didn't expect Wheein to send all the consequences to hell and encourage her to do the same, but this was only a brief thought in a moment of despair. If she’s being honest, even in her most positive moments she wouldn’t have imagined a scenario where the outcome of all of this mess would be with a happy ending. That's why she wanted to make this night more special, that's why she put more effort to make it memorable. She believed it would be their last.

Deep down she knows that Joohyun would be supportive if she chose to follow the path of love - just as Joohyun herself had done years ago - but she doesn't believe she would have the courage to do so. Of course, it's not as if choosing to be with Wheein it would automatically take Joohyun out of her life, but they know that eventually she would be gone, and even if she’s in peace with it, with the idea of her own mortality, the prospect of a leaving a Joohyun alone in this world hurts her deeply. They’ve always had each other.

For more than one occasion she has to admit that she thought about taking the easiest path: she thought she should just walk away from Wheein, forever. Just run away from her feelings to spare herself from being the one who had to tell her the truth. But she couldn't. She wouldn't do that to Wheein, to herself. It was dangerous for both of them, she had the right to know. This is a choice they have to make together, that’s if there is even a choice to be made.

Hyejin had barely stopped at the Olympic village’s parking lot when Wheein pulled out her seatbelt and opened the door abruptly, walking fast toward her dorm.

"Hey, wait!” Hyejin calls out as she copies her movements, following close behind. “Wanna talk about it?" 

"There's nothing to talk about." Wheein says rudely without looking at her. "We can't do this." She completes firmly, swallows down her feelings. There's no trace of doubt in her voice, she's just stating a fact.

"Wheein, you just got a life-changing piece of information, I'm not talking about us." They're already about to enter Wheein's porch when Hyejin holds her arm lightly, forcing a stop. "I mean about what you're feeling. If you're not going to talk to your friends about it, which I suspect you won’t, I want to be here for you, to help you process.”

Wheein crosses her arms as a defense mechanism, doing her best to put more hindrance between them. Her eyes get glossy once again.

"I have nothing to talk about." Wheein lies, her voice is almost breaking and she avoids Hyejin’s eyes.

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"You don't know me."

"You know that's not true." Hyejin shakes her head.

"Just leave me alone." She tries to turn around but Hyejin stops her again, holding her still with a hand on which of Wheein’s arms.

"Come on, Wheein. I don't want you to go into a crisis again, please, let me help you. Just talk to me..." Hyejin practically begs. She feels guilty for being the message holder but she knows it was necessary. She just doesn’t want Wheein to be alone as she faces it. 

For a whole minute they just stare at each other as if it’s a battle of wills. Hyejin wishes with all of her heart that she could help ease the pain she’s brought and Wheein... well, Wheein makes a decision. It's tough and she knows it will only increase the pain for now, but she believes it will be the best solution in the long run.

"You want me to talk? Allright, I'll talk!" In one sudden movement she shakes her arms and roughly gets out of Hyejin's hold. "This is all your fault!" Wheein screams. "It's your fault we're in this mess."

"W-What?" Hyejin looks surprised. Of all the things she was expecting, this wasn’t one of them.

"That's right! You put the two of us in this shitty situation, God knows why! This whole thing could have been avoided if you weren't so self-absorbed, so selfish." The expression on Wheein's face is indecipherable, she’s as serious as Hyejin’s ever seen her. 

"Wheein..." She starts but Wheein interrupts her.

"Did you want to get back at Joohyun or something like that? Is that it? Or maybe you just like her way more than just as a friend and she never corresponded your feelings? It could go both ways.” At the mention of Joohyun, Hyejin takes a step back as if she's been slapped. "But the first one makes more sense, doesn't it? The two of you promised not to leave each other and then she throws herself at someone else, ready to leave you at the first chance she got? Now it would be your turn, right?"

"We’re not like that, I would never..." She’s so shaken that the words don't come out.

"You would never do that? Then why, Hyejin, why did you do it? Why did you look for me?" Hyejin wants to scream that it's because she loves her but she doesn’t see how it could make the situation any better. "You’ve known I'm also an immortal since Chicago. I didn't know the consequences but you’ve always known the truth. I can't blame you for Colditz because you didn’t know I would show up there but why did you come here, in one of the most important moments of my life, to destabilize me, almost make me screw everything up and just drop this whole immortal bomb over my head?” Wheein takes a step forward to emphasize her words, head held high without any hesitation. ”And worse, why’d you make me fall in love with you if you knew we could never have a future together? What was your goal here?”

"I just- I didn't mean to... I thought you had to know..." She stutters, running out of words. It was never her intention to make Wheein feel this way. She makes the mistake of looking Wheein in the eyes and regrets immediately, looking down at her own feet as she curses herself for it. 

"I had to know? I didn't have to know anything! You chose to let me know, it’s different. You should never have come here! Everything would have been better if you had just disappeared forever and just left me be!" 

"I'm sorry!" Hyejin closes her eyes and shakes her head, whispering an apology as she takes a few small steps backwards. She feels as if she’s been hit again.

"And what good will an apology do now?" Yeah, the hits keep coming. "I hate you." Hyejin finally looks back at Wheein, totally dumbfounded. This time it's Wheein who avoids her eyes, her voice is a little over a whisper when she speaks again. "I hate you for making me love you." And that’s the final blow.

Wheein has a sad look on her face as she turns around and walks up the porch stairs toward her dorm. This time Hyejin doesn't stop her. She opens the door and disappears into the room while Hyejin just stares, unable to do anything to stop her.

Hyejin feels so much pain that she wishes she could go back to a couple of hours ago when she was just feeling numb, holding the woman who had now stuck a dagger into her heart. The woman she loves but hates her for loving her back. When she finally manages to get back to reality, she lets her feet guide her back to the parking expectating to put an end to what is, without any doubt, the worst night of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one will take little longer, but it will come.


End file.
